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The yellow Gadsden flag, with a coiled rattlesnake and the words "Don't Tread On Me," went up Thursday, March 21, at ceremony held to replace the old, tattered American flag with a new one. The Gadsden flag went up below the Stars and Stripes.
"That flag is the first flag of the United States of America; the Marines and the Navy fought the British underneath that flag in the Revolutionary War. That is the significance," said Peter Parente, president of the United Veterans Memorial and Patriotic Association.
The flag is now used by the Tea Party, but Parente said the group attaches no political meaning to it and is politically neutral overall. However, after a week, the flag was taken down and City Manager Charles Strome told him in an email that there were complaints that the flag has right-wing connections, he said.
"Our country has many historic flags. This particular one is now widely recognized as am emblem of the Tea Party," said New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson, a Democrat. "Tea Party supporters like Mr. Parente have every right to display this flag on their own private property. But unauthorized political messages do not belong on public property, where they can be interpreted as an official expression of the city's views. New Rochelle would have taken precisely the same action if someone had erected a sign in support of the President or displayed any other political statement."
The veterans group is upset with how the mayor has handled the situation, Parente said. "He doesn’t reach out to us, he doesn’t call us, or try to deal with this as gentlemen. He just goes out there and starts swinging. So our response is to not only defend ourselves, but to also make sure that we’re the last ones standing.”
The conflict over the flag comes amid a larger battle between the veterans and the city over the fate of the Armory, as plans for redevelopment of the Echo Bay area are considered.
Parente said the veterans will demand the return of the flag during a Citizens to be Heard rally April 9. "We will be there in force," he said.
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