Share and Follow
GREENWICH VILLAGE, Manhattan (WPIX) – In a move that has stirred controversy, the rainbow Pride flag has been taken down from the Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan’s historic Greenwich Village. This action follows a directive from the federal National Parks Department.
Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal announced that the flag was removed last week pursuant to a federal order issued by the Trump administration on January 21. In response, advocates and local community members are organizing a rally set for Tuesday evening to protest the flag’s removal.
“They cannot erase our history,” Hoylman-Sigal declared in a social media post. “Our Pride flag will be raised again.”
The Pride flag had been proudly displayed at the Stonewall National Monument, a site that honors the 1969 riots that ignited the LGBTQIA+ rights movement. The vibrant flag is globally recognized as a symbol of LGBTQ+ rights and equality.
The U.S. Department of the Interior’s memo mandated the flag’s removal, citing regulations that prohibit non-agency flags from being flown at locations managed by the National Park Service. This directive follows President Donald Trump’s federal order, which called for the cessation of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in executive departments and agencies.
In social media posts, Hoylman-Sigal says he intends to raise the flag again. Nexstar’s WPIX has reached out to the National Park Service and the Manhattan Borough President’s office for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publishing.
The Pride flag is the latest point of contention between LGBTQ+ activists and Trump’s administrations over the Stonewall monument, which Democratic former President Barack Obama created in 2016. Activists were irritated when, during the Republican Trump’s first administration, the park service kept a bureaucratic distance from the raising of the rainbow flag on the city’s pole.
Last year, NPS removed a reference to the transgender community from the Stonewall National Monument’s website following a directive from Trump.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.