thedrifter
06-12-07, 07:32 AM
Clarkstown, not thieves, took down flags placed by Congers man
By JANE LERNER
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: June 12, 2007)
CONGERS - The mystery of the missing American flags has been solved.
Clarkstown officials said yesterday afternoon that they took down the 50 or so flags from the Congers Road causeway last week.
The flags, which had been put up as a patriotic gesture by Joe Hoehmann Jr., violated a town ordinance against signs, Town Attorney Amy Mele said.
"The ordinance does not allow for the posting of any kind of flags or signs anywhere in the right-of-way," she said. "We have to enforce the rule, no matter how good the intention."
So town officials on Wednesday removed most of the 70 large America flags that Hoehmann, a Congers resident, had placed along the scenic causeway.
Hoehmann, a landscaper and EMT in the Bronx, said he spent $400 to buy the 2-by-3-foot flags.
He spent most of Memorial Day attaching the flags to the chain link fence lining the causeway between Congers and New City.
He said he did so to honor men and women in the military - including some family members - and to commemorate the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, in which he lost several firefighter friends.
Clarkstown officials tried to find out who had put the flags there and called several veterans' groups, Mele said.
"No one 'fessed up, so we removed them ourself," she said.
Hoehmann, 22, met with town officials yesterday afternoon.
"When they first told me, I was pretty angry," he said. "But if they have a rule, they have a rule."
Hoehmann agreed to remove the remaining flags, and Clarkstown officials returned the ones they had taken to Hoehmann.
He said he agreed to meet with officials from the town and United Water, which owns the right-of-way, next week to talk about erecting a more permanent flag display on the causeway.
Residents who enjoyed the display said the town was wrong to remove the flags.
"Are they out of their minds?" asked Congers resident Jim O'Neill. "Not to allow flags, especially this close to the Fourth of July - the town is being ridiculous."
After news reports about the missing flags, Hoehmann was inundated with offers from people who wanted to help him replace those that he thought had been stolen.
One offer even came from Army Lt. Col. Jose G. Rosa, a Garnerville resident serving in Baghdad, Iraq.
Rosa said he would send Hoehmann a flag that has flown over Camp Victory, where the colonel and other members of the multinational forces are stationed.
"Your actions are commendable and a great example of patriotism and unconditional support for our troops," Rosa wrote yesterday in an e-mail, a copy of which was sent to The Journal News. "Your thoughtfulness makes our country great and our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines proud to serve."
Rosa said it will take two or three weeks for Hoehmann to receive the flag from Iraq.
Hoehmann said he hopes that he can use the donated funds to help the town create a permanent flag display - perhaps a lighted flagpole - on the causeway.
Several people called the town to complain that Hoehmann's flags - still attached to their flagpoles - had become dislodged and hit cars driving across the roadway, Mele said.
Others told the town that it was a violation of flag protocol to display the flags day and night, she said.
But Jerry Donnellan, Rockland's director of veterans affairs, dismissed that argument.
"Look at Arlington Cemetery," he said.
"People put flags on all the graves on Memorial Day and leave them there. As long as it's done respectfully, it's a beautiful gesture."
Reach Jane Lerner at jlerner@lohud.com or 845-578-2458.
Ellie
By JANE LERNER
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: June 12, 2007)
CONGERS - The mystery of the missing American flags has been solved.
Clarkstown officials said yesterday afternoon that they took down the 50 or so flags from the Congers Road causeway last week.
The flags, which had been put up as a patriotic gesture by Joe Hoehmann Jr., violated a town ordinance against signs, Town Attorney Amy Mele said.
"The ordinance does not allow for the posting of any kind of flags or signs anywhere in the right-of-way," she said. "We have to enforce the rule, no matter how good the intention."
So town officials on Wednesday removed most of the 70 large America flags that Hoehmann, a Congers resident, had placed along the scenic causeway.
Hoehmann, a landscaper and EMT in the Bronx, said he spent $400 to buy the 2-by-3-foot flags.
He spent most of Memorial Day attaching the flags to the chain link fence lining the causeway between Congers and New City.
He said he did so to honor men and women in the military - including some family members - and to commemorate the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, in which he lost several firefighter friends.
Clarkstown officials tried to find out who had put the flags there and called several veterans' groups, Mele said.
"No one 'fessed up, so we removed them ourself," she said.
Hoehmann, 22, met with town officials yesterday afternoon.
"When they first told me, I was pretty angry," he said. "But if they have a rule, they have a rule."
Hoehmann agreed to remove the remaining flags, and Clarkstown officials returned the ones they had taken to Hoehmann.
He said he agreed to meet with officials from the town and United Water, which owns the right-of-way, next week to talk about erecting a more permanent flag display on the causeway.
Residents who enjoyed the display said the town was wrong to remove the flags.
"Are they out of their minds?" asked Congers resident Jim O'Neill. "Not to allow flags, especially this close to the Fourth of July - the town is being ridiculous."
After news reports about the missing flags, Hoehmann was inundated with offers from people who wanted to help him replace those that he thought had been stolen.
One offer even came from Army Lt. Col. Jose G. Rosa, a Garnerville resident serving in Baghdad, Iraq.
Rosa said he would send Hoehmann a flag that has flown over Camp Victory, where the colonel and other members of the multinational forces are stationed.
"Your actions are commendable and a great example of patriotism and unconditional support for our troops," Rosa wrote yesterday in an e-mail, a copy of which was sent to The Journal News. "Your thoughtfulness makes our country great and our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines proud to serve."
Rosa said it will take two or three weeks for Hoehmann to receive the flag from Iraq.
Hoehmann said he hopes that he can use the donated funds to help the town create a permanent flag display - perhaps a lighted flagpole - on the causeway.
Several people called the town to complain that Hoehmann's flags - still attached to their flagpoles - had become dislodged and hit cars driving across the roadway, Mele said.
Others told the town that it was a violation of flag protocol to display the flags day and night, she said.
But Jerry Donnellan, Rockland's director of veterans affairs, dismissed that argument.
"Look at Arlington Cemetery," he said.
"People put flags on all the graves on Memorial Day and leave them there. As long as it's done respectfully, it's a beautiful gesture."
Reach Jane Lerner at jlerner@lohud.com or 845-578-2458.
Ellie