GoFundMe Launched to Monitor Stonewall Flagpole in New York
Activist Michael Petrelis hopes to raise $5,000 to install cameras after a Pride flag was briefly removed from the monument.
A GoFundMe has been launched to purchase surveillance cameras to monitor the flagpole at the Stonewall National Monument in New York.
The effort, launched by longtime LGBTQ activist Michael Petrelis, seeks to monitor the flagpole that has, at various points, flown the Pride and Progress Pride flags.
National Park Service employees recently removed a Pride flag bearing the agency’s logo and the year the Stonewall National Monument was designated a national monument.
The removal — taken to comply with federal guidance from the U.S. Department of the Interior barring the display of so-called “non-agency” flags on national park property — sparked outrage among members of the LGBTQ community, who accused the Trump administration of trying to “erase” LGBTQ history. The flag was officially re-raised on February 12 following protests at Christopher Street Park.
In the GoFundMe description, Petrelis said he hopes to raise $5,000 to install five live-streaming cameras at residences and businesses adjacent to Christopher Street Park to monitor the flagpole 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
So far, the campaign has raised $1,201.
None of the cameras would be located on federal land, ensuring that the LGBTQ community and its allies control the livestream and capture any future footage of NPS employees removing the Pride flag — serving as a call to action for activists.
“We’d really like for people in nearby apartments to consider installing a camera,” Petrelis told Metro Weekly. “The more eyes we have on the park, the better.”
Currently, The Monster Bar, located near the Stonewall National Monument, has trained its private CCTV on the flagpole inside the park, recording continuous 24/7 footage. Petrelis has also reached out to the Stonewall Inn, The Duplex, and the privately run Stonewall National Monument Visitors Center about installing cameras to monitor the park.
There is currently no end date for the campaign. Any funds raised beyond the cost of purchasing and installing the surveillance cameras will be transferred to Steven Love Menendez, the volunteer caretaker of the flagpole and its flags, for beautification projects at the monument.
Menendez told Metro Weekly that surveillance around the Stonewall National Monument and Christopher Street Park could help deter vandalism. An annual Pride Month display — in which hand-held Pride flags are perched atop the fence — has been destroyed or vandalized multiple times in recent years.
“I felt like having cameras is a safety issue for the park, and I think if people are aware that there are cameras, it can actually reduce crime,” he said.
Menendez said three cameras positioned at the front of the park and on either side would likely be sufficient to deter vandalism, but noted that Petrelis appears more focused on monitoring NPS employees’ actions regarding the Pride flag.
“I had heard that there were more cameras around the park in the past, but there were complaints from the community, because they felt like it was ‘Big Brother’ watching them,” he said. “But during Pride Month, I’ve dealt with police so many times because of different vandalism that had occurred in the park.”
Menendez said the Pride flag’s presence at the monument carries deep symbolic weight.
“A Pride flag is a universal symbol that represents the LGBTQ community, specifically created for our community,” he said. “That park is the Stonewall National Monument. So if there’s any place on earth that should have a rainbow flag flying, it is that space.”
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