Sayreville passes ordinance on which flags can be flown in front of borough hall

SAYREVILLE – Only the American, the New Jersey and the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action flags will be allowed to fly in front of Borough Hall, the Borough Council has decided.

The flag display ordinance, passed on Monday by a 5-1 vote, does not permit special flags, including the Pride flag, to be flown on the flagpoles, but they would be allowed elsewhere on Borough Hall grounds.

At Monday's meeting, veteran and former Borough Councilman Stanley Drwal read a letter sent in August 2022 by the Sayreville VFW Post requesting that the borough refrain from flying flags or banners at any public building other than the national, state, borough or POW flags.

Sayreville should not open itself up to criticism and legal action by aligning with or against certain groups by allowing the other flags to be flown, the letter said.

The ordinance was introduced on first reading at the June 17 Council meeting.

At the meeting, Mayor Kennedy O'Brien said that the ordinance should settle the controversy over which flags should be mounted on the flagpoles.

"As I fly the Pride flag, I have to fly practically every flag," O'Brien said. "My first instinct is I really don't want to be in the flag business because it's going to be cumbersome and I'm going to only make people unhappy because somebody else's flag went up. It's a recipe for unhappiness because nobody's going to be happy."

Resident Jim Robinson questioned whether the ordinance would allow the borough flag to be flown in front of Borough Hall

O'Brien said he would confer with the Sayreville Veterans Alliance, but not right now.

Resident Anthony Sposato, one of the strident advocates of flying the Pride flag, said he did not oppose the ordinance because he supports those who expressed the importance of the American flag.

But he said he would like a good faith conversation with the Borough Council about having a community flagpole in a prominent place where it can be seen.

Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.