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Community fundraiser launched to install cameras to protect Stonewall National Monument Pride flag

A new grassroots fundraising drive has been launched to install private security cameras overlooking the flagpole at the Stonewall National Monument, following public anger over the recent removal of the Progress Pride flag by National Park Service (NPS) staff.

The GoFundMe campaign, created on 15 February by long-time LGBTQ+ activist Michael Petrelis, aims to raise $5,000 to fund five livestreaming cameras positioned on nearby private residences and small businesses around Christopher Park - the heart of the national monument. The initiative seeks to ensure that any future attempts to remove or interfere with Pride flags at the site are captured on video controlled by the community rather than federal authorities.

The fundraising appeal follows weeks of controversy after NPS employees removed a Pride flag that included the agency’s logo and the year the Stonewall National Monument was designated. Officials claimed they were complying with federal guidance barring “non-agency” flags from national park property, but the decision sparked immediate backlash from LGBTQ+ activists, who accused the Trump administration of attempting to erase queer history. The flag was re-raised on 12 February by New York politicians and community members during a large demonstration at Christopher Street Park.

Petrelis’ campaign would see one camera trained directly on the flagpole, with others covering entrances and central areas of the park. To ensure autonomy from federal oversight, none of the cameras would be placed on government land. Any unused funds will be transferred to Steven Love Menendez, the volunteer caretaker who has long overseen the flagpole and its Pride displays, to support beautification projects at the site.

Surveillance of the area has become a growing concern among local activists, as Pride displays in the park - including handheld flags placed along the fencing during Pride Month - have been repeatedly vandalised in recent years. Menendez told Metro Weekly that increased monitoring could help deter future attacks. The Monster Bar has already set up a private CCTV camera trained on the flagpole, and Petrelis has approached several other nearby venues, including the Stonewall Inn, The Duplex, and the Stonewall National Monument Visitors Center, about participating.

The Stonewall National Monument, located in New York’s Greenwich Village, commemorates the 1969 uprising at the Stonewall Inn - an event widely recognised as a turning point in modern LGBTQ+ civil rights. Federal restrictions on Pride flags at NPS sites have become a charged political issue, with the requirement to remove the flag at Stonewall fuelling renewed calls for community-led protection of the landmark.