Political Banner, Hate Symbol Ban Proposed For NY Public Property

ALBANY, NY — A Confederate flag — replaced by a banner for former President Donald Trump — at a Levittown firehouse and the flying of another Confederate flag on a Brookhaven fire truck have inspired legislation banning political and hate-driven displays on publicly funded property in New York, according to state Sen. Anna Kaplan's office.

The legislation would prohibit employees or unpaid volunteers from displaying political campaign material of any kind, as well as symbols of hate such as Confederate flags or swastikas on taxpayer-funded government property and equipment.

The ban would expand existing legislation banning the sale of hate symbols on government property and would strengthen other loosely enforced ethics laws prohibiting electioneering on public property.

Government properties affected would include buildings owned by towns, villages, fire, police and ambulance companies that are funded by taxpayer dollars. The ban would include outdoor structures such as flag poles and monuments, vehicles, as well as uniforms.

Kaplan, a Democrat from Great Neck, said that government and politics should "never mix" and that government property should not be used to promote a political candidate. "It's time we strengthened our laws to protect our public spaces from these kinds of abuses," she said.

Kaplan also said public property should be "free of symbols of hate." "In the past year, we have seen hatred, anti-Semitism, and hate-fueled violence explode across the country, and it takes us all working together, speaking with one voice, to say that hate has no place in our community, and we will fight back against it every step of the way," she said.

As of Thursday night, a Trump 2020 banner was displayed inside a common area of the Levittown Fire Department's Engine 3 on Wantagh Avenue in Bethpage, according to Kaplan's office. The banner featured the words "Trump 2020 No More bull-" and it was hung inside a room with windows and visible to passersby.

Representatives from the Levittown Fire Department were not immediately available for comment.

Up until about 2018, a Confederate flag hung inside the same room next to a "Don't tread on me" flag, according to Kaplan's office. The department's drill team nickname was the Rebels and featured a bearded man wearing a gray Civil War uniform and holding a Confederate flag, Newsday reported. In an interview last year, Chief Al Williams said the symbols were removed.

The Brookhaven Fire Department took some heat last August after a member displayed a Confederate flag on a fire truck during a parade for a sick Patchogue firefighter.

Attorney Joseph Frank, who represents the Brookhaven Fire Department, said the department and Board of Fire Commissioners "fully support legislation that makes it less likely that symbols of hate will be displayed in our community."

"The Brookhaven Fire District and Fire Department embrace the diversity of our community and support efforts to make the fire service and our society more inclusive," he said.

Back in August, the department denounced the flag-flying incident, saying that it was unauthorized and the department member, as well as another riding in the truck with him, resigned, Frank said.

"If they had asked for permission, it would not have been granted," he added.

The department is working with the Suffolk County Division of Human Rights on a sensitivity training program so all members "understand the concepts behind why certain objects are considered symbols of hate and have no place in fire departments and other governmental entities," Frank said.