Clifton scraps plan to do away with flag-raising ceremonies on summer weekends

CLIFTON — There are so many flag-raising events held on City Hall property that members of the council unsuccessfully floated the idea of doing away with them during summer weekends.

The proposal was brought up by council members who don't want to miss out on the weekend flag events but find they have other commitments that prevent them from attending.

"Keep in mind that especially between June 15 and Sept. 15 most people are planning vacations," the city's proposal reads.

The proliferation of flag-raising events in recent years has made it difficult for council members to attend all of them, which some said can be taken as an insult.

Councilman Bill Gibson said he has not yet missed any of the 17 annual flag-raising events, but that means he has had to choose between spending time with his family at his beach home in Bayville and being at his Clifton residence.

Councilwoman Lauren Murphy said she also finds it difficult to attend the flag events on summer weekend days, and would rather they were scheduled for weekday nights, at least during the summer months.

Councilwoman Rosemary Pino pushed back, saying that for many first-generation Americans, having these events on weeknights is difficult because of work.

"This predominantly affects brown people," Pino said.

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Flag-raising events for the Colombian, Peruvian, Ecuadorian, Indian, Pakistani and Dominican Republic independence days all fall during the summer months.

The City Council also asked to limit the event time to two hours and allow only prepackaged food from professional kitchens.

After a 30-minute discussion, Councilman Joe Kolodziej made a proposal, approved by the council, to allow the flag-raising ceremonies at City Hall on the days that best suit the organizers. The council also agreed to limit food served at the events to prepackaged or professionally prepared.

Flags that have been raised at Clifton City Hall include those to honor the LGBTQ community, the Women's Federation for World Peace and independence anniversaries for Turkey, Ukraine, Israel, the Philippines, Peru and more.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Clifton NJ flag-raising on summer weekends continues