The movie theatre’s American flag is not being displayed according to US Flag Code

The movie theatre’s American flag is not being displayed according to US Flag Code regulations and some neighbors feel that the flag’s treatment is a disgrace.

Over the marquee’s neon red glare there is no proof that our American Flag is still there.The American flag on top of the marquee of The Pavilion, the movie theatre on Prospect Park West, is not being displayed properly, and some neighbors, including a former Marine and a retired fireman, feel that the theatre’s display of the Stars and Stripes is disrespecting our country and our troops.

For a couple of weeks now, the flag has been wrapped around its pole, touching the top surface of the marquee and is not taken down at night, three violations of the US Flag Code etiquette.Jim Rallis, a neighborhood resident and a retired captain of the FDNY’s Ladder Company 122, notified Patch that the American Flag, which is on the section of Prospect Park West that was recently co-named “Julian Brennan Way,” a Park Slope resident and Marine who died while serving the US in Afghanistan, is being flown improperly.

He said that he has gone to the theatre five times in the past two weeks to speak with the manager in order to get it fixed, but to no avail. According to Rallis, the manager said the American Flag is not flying properly because the flagpole is broken.“The laziness of the management of the Pavilion is an embarrassment,” Rallis said. “That they will not open a window and take in the US Flag and show it’s proper respect while we have brave men and woman still overseas fighting and protecting our freedom….Where is the respect?”

A manager at The Pavilion refused to give Patch a comment on Friday about the American Flag. However, she did say they have received complaints about how they are displaying our country’s banner.“We are not talking about this,” the manager stated.But Rallis is by far not the only one concerned about how the American Flag is being disrespected, especially on Julian Brennan Way and steps from Bartel-Prichard Square, a memorial for two young Brooklynites who died in combat during World War I.

Joe, a 48-year-old Kensington resident who did not want to give his last name, was walking past the cinema with his son when he noticed the condition of the American Flag.“I think it is a travesty, I really do,” Joe said.Then his son, James, who is 8 and goes to Immaculate Heart of Mary in Fort Hamilton, said the American Flag was not being displayed with respect.

“The American flag should never touch the ground or be displayed in a disrespectful manner,” the boy said while he was standing under the marquee on Friday.And the kid is right. According to the US Flag Code, which was established on American Flag Day, June 14, 1923, “The American Flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise.”

Also, it custom to display the American Flag only from “sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open.” But the American Flag at The Pavilion is outside during the night. However, the code states, “…The American Flag may be displayed twenty-four hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness.”But there is no light illuminating the flag.

“Anyone who knows the history of the American flag knows this is a disgrace to America’s history,” Joe said. “This flag, considering the proximity to Julian Brennan Way, does not serve his memory well.”A spokesman for the office of the Borough President, Marty Markowitz, said that they do not tolerate misuse of the American flag.

“Our office takes seriously the proper display of the American flag,” the spokesman said. “Our office is looking into the complaint of this location.”Up a couple blocks, at Farrell’s Bar on 16th Street, a former Marine and 44-year Windsor Terrace resident, Charlie O’Donnell, said he has seen The Pavilion’s flag in bad condition for far too long.

“I am upset! They have had more than enough time to fix it—the flag has been in disarray for at least two months,” O’Donnell said. “They bring the marquee up to date, just spend ten minutes and bring it down.”A co-owner of the bar, Jim Houlihan, also believes the flag is being treated with disrespect.

“They are showing no respect for the American flag, they should take it down or display it properly,” Houlihan said. “There are too many guys dying for this country for there to be a flag like that one.” What do you think? Is The Pavilion’s flag disrespectful to our country and our troops? Let us know in the comments!

An American Flag History

The American Flag is a symbol of power and a symbol of freedom known across the globe. With it’s 50 stars and 13 stripes, the American flag represents not just the country, but the way the people of the country live their lives. However, the stars and stripes hasn’t always looked the way that we recognize it today.

In fact, the original incarnation of the United States Flag may surprise you to find out that while it maintained the thirteen red and white stripes, a version of the British Union Jack was flown where the stars now adorn. The American Flag flown under the name the “Grand Union” was most commonly used by George Washington during the Revolutionar War, while it never obtained “official” status as the flag of the United States.

The first official American Flag had thirteen stars and thirteen stripes, representing the original thirteen colonies Thirteen Star Spangled American Flagthat made up the first states in the union. Unfortunately, this is all we can say for certain about the flag as much controversy surrounds who actually designed the first official flag of the United States of America.

One theory is that Betsy Ross, a seamstress from the city of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, was approached by soon-to-be President George Washington, Robert Morris and George Ross in 1777 and was asked if she could create the flag they had drawn on a piece of parchment.

According to sworn affidavits by members of her family, her response to these three men was “I do not know, but I will try.” Thus, theBetsy Ross 13 Star US Flag Betsy Ross 13-Star American Flag was born. While there are several versions of 13-Star American Flags, the Betsy Ross version most of us recognize did not appear until the 1790’s and has the 13 Stars arranged to create a circle. As the story goes, Ross also suggested to the three men using five-point stars instead of six-point stars on the flag, showing them how easy it would be with one snip of her scissors.

Another theory, which is given more credence by historians, is that the very first official United States flag was created by Francis Hopkinson of New Jersey, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; he was largely responsible for the creation of the earlier Grand Union Flag. At the time the resolution was approved for the new flag, Hopkinson was Chairman of the Continental Navy Board’s Middle Department. Hopkinson also played a large role in the design of the Seal of the United States of America.

Fifteen Star Spangled Flag – The Flag to Inspire the National Anthem “The Star Spangled Banner” By Francis Scott Key.This was just the beginning of the changes that American Flags would undergo. Following the 13-star flag, a 15-Star version of the U.S. flag was born in 1795 and was the flag which inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star Spangled Banner,” a song destined to become the national anthem of the new born nation.

The 20 Star Flag desigend in 1818. The act creating this flag also comissioned a new star for every additional state joining the union to be placed on the flag the following Fourth of July.In the following years the flag did not change until 1818, when a plan was passed by Congress at the suggestion of U.S. Naval Captain Samuel C. Reid. This act increased the star count on the flag to 20, while maintaining the original thirteen stripes to symbolize the original thirteen colonies. The act also included a provision stating that as new states are admitted to the union, a new star would be added to the flag on the following Fourth of July.

The current flag of the United States, with fifty stars and thirteen stripes representing the fifty united states and thirteen original colonies.As the flag displays today, it maintains 50 stars and 13 stripes, representing the 50 states of the union and 13 original colonies. However, we may not yet have seen the end of the addition of stars to the flag. Territories possessed by the United States hold the potential to join the union as an official state providing additional updates to our United States Flags of the future!