A message from the
Mayor of West New York, NJ:
I want to make it very clear that American flags have NOT been banned in West New York, nor have any other nation’s flags. It has been an unfortunate matter of misunderstanding.
As a colonel in the United States Army for 37 years, it would be absolutely absurd for me to support flag banning in any way. I love this country. If not for this country, I would not have been able to become a physician, a colonel, or your mayor.
It would be a violation of our freedom of speech to disallow residents to show their patriotism. This is the sort of oppression I experienced in Cuba. The freedom to proudly display the American flag and to express oneself is what inspired me to serve in the United States military for nearly four decades. It is why I love my country.
The original intent behind the ordinance that was introduced on January 16 was to address the digital signs and advertisements polluting our streets, NOT to ban the American flag. Many surrounding towns have enacted similar laws in order to reduce the nuisance of too much advertisement.
Ultimately the ordinance is meant to improve the quality of life for the residents of West New York, which is always our goal.
The PDF of the ordinance can be found
here.
Noting all that, there is, as is usually the case, some politics at work here. The town’s mayor, Felix Roque is currently under federal indictment for computer hacking. The mayor's opponents, especially Frank Ferriero, certainly consider the ordinance a political move. Frank Ferriero is the head of “Residents for a Better West New York,” an organization that is trying to have the mayor recalled.
But Ferriero also owns "TV on Wheels," and until the ordinance had a mobile TV ad campaign running out of the back of his truck designed for that purpose. It is essentially a small box truck (like a Penske truck) where the sides and rear of the box are very large screen TV screens with advertising playing on them. Here's a video of that I can only describe as a
White Trailer Trash Monstrosity, except Ferriero isn't white, he's Latino, so let whatever racial prejudices you cater to apply:
TV ON WHEELS - YouTube
Note that the video, which is supposed to be a slick showcase for this exciting advertising opportunity, is just as
White Trailer Trash and incredibly amateurish as the concept.
I saw one on the road in Los Angeles once. It was incredibly distracting. They should, absolutely, be illegal. Video billboards (which are mostly illegal everywhere, far as I know) are were enough (when they briefly existed), but this thing is just ridiculous.
Ferriero says the "mayor and commissioners are infringing on commercial freedom of speech.” Never mind that his rolling video billboard causes accidents.
The West New York Board of Commissioners passed a preliminary version of the ordinance by a 4-1 vote. Count Wiley was the only commissioner to vote against it. Wiley said, “This is a violation of freedom of speech and this town is setting itself up for a big lawsuit.”
The ordinance gets rid of portable signs, bench signs, inflatable signs (goodbye Michelin Man), trashy-looking banners hanging all over the place off businesses, flashing, moving, animated, digital (except time or temperature), or fluttering signs and signs that emit smoke, visible vapors or particles, sound or odor. The ordinance also prohibits signs fixed to the exterior of a window or glass, neon signs framing windows, and window and door signs that take up more than 15% of the glass section. And, it prohibits the flying of flags, banners and pennants for advertising purposes, like the flags, banners and pennants that are oh, so popular with car dealerships.
The ordinance is an amendment to an existing sign ordinance, and has nothing whatsoever to do with the ordinance that allows flags, American or any other kind, to be flown on flag poles or other hardware designs for the purpose of flying a flag.
Sooooo....
