Every year, cities across New York honor their different cultures and heritage with flag-raising ceremonies at city hall or other important landmarks. However, some cities like Watertown are ending that tradition, saying there’s just too much controversy in today’s landscape.

What You Need To Know

  • Watertown has a long-standing tradition of flying various cultural and heritage flags over City Hall

  • However, as controversies continue to become more prevalent, the city says it will not longer fly the flags of other countries or those that honor and celebrate heritage, culture and community

  • Community groups say they understand, but are disappointed they will not be able to share their story with the rest of the community

"The decision regarding flag policy is something that the city council has been at least considering the back of their minds in recent years,” Watertown Mayor Sarah Compo-Pierce said.

It was four years ago when a North Country man came to Watertown City Hall and took down a Pride flag, discarding it in a nearby drop box.

“Flag raisings that weren't considered controversial in the past have become controversy, unfortunately,” Compo-Pierce said of a number of flags the city had previously raised. “As you look across the country, in New York state, local municipalities in New York state, there is a trend toward adopting a flag policy, as we did."

Watertown recently raised the Israeli flag over city hall. However, it did so knowing it would likely never raise another cultural or heritage flag again.

“Rather than ... having to police that, we decided that the best way to move forward was to just fly the flags of our nation and state,” Compo-Pierce said, while also believing legal matters come into play should a city fly some flags and not all.

Mary Tucker, president of the Congregation Degel Isreal Synagogue in Watertown, says whether it's the Israeli, German, Italian, Irish, Pride or Juneteenth flag, it does not matter, because she feels people are losing.

“I just hope that it's not the start of further restrictions because anti-Semitism ... is unfortunately on the rise. And I want to be able to know that we can count on our government to protect us if that time should come,” Tucker added.

The only way for people to understand differences, she says, are to know them, understand them and be exposed to them.

Watertown Mayor Sarah Compo-Pierce says the city will continue to fly the POW flag when appropriate.