Rainbow flags fly in Glen Rock, Westwood
As Glen Rock raised the rainbow flag on Thursday, the first day of LGBT Pride Month, it received a surprise visit from a well-known gay-rights champion: former Rep. Barney Frank.
Frank, who served in the United States House of Representatives for 30 years as a congressman from Massachusetts, made headlines in 1987 as the first member of Congress to voluntarily disclose his homosexuality.
“I’m so happy the town did what it did. This is a great chapter in the history of gay rights,” said Frank, who was born in Bayonne.
Frank now lives in Maine, but said he was in Manhattan for a meeting and had his car service reroute him to Glen Rock before heading home.
His connection to the borough is Police Officer Matthew Stanislao. The two were recently in touch over Stanislao's now-settled harassment suit against the borough and the Police Department. On Thursday, Stanislao and Sgt. Christopher McInerney had the honor of raising the Pride flag at Wilde Memorial Park.
“I’m truly speechless,” said Stanislao, who is gay, at the outpouring of support by the town. “The amount of love and inclusivity that this town is showing has really been an inspiration not only to myself but on behalf of the Police Department and the entire community.”
A number of local and county officials were also in attendance, including Bergen County Executive James Tedesco, Bergen County Prosecutor – and Glen Rock resident – Gurbir S. Grewal, and many members of the Glen Rock council.
The gathering to celebrate LGBTQ rights and inclusivity is the first of two in the borough. Due to great interest by residents who could not attend the Thursday morning ceremony, a second ceremony will be held Saturday at 6 p.m., said Mayor Bruce Packer.
Glen Rock is not the only North Jersey community flying the rainbow-colored flag.
In Westwood, the flag was mounted over the front entrance of Borough Hall on Thursday, symbolizing Westwood’s “welcoming community.”
“Flying this flag is especially important in today’s tumultuous political environment,” Mayor John Birkner Jr. said. “We’re seeing a nation that is divided over almost everything.”
A Department of Public Works employee helped set up the flag, which will hang over a balcony visible from Washington Avenue for the rest of the month.
“Being that it’s June – it’s Pride Month – we show that we are leaders and we are a welcoming community,” Birkner said.
The quiet event, which wasn't publicized by the town, did not draw any attention Thursday afternoon.
LGBT Pride Month
June has become widely known as Pride Month over the last two decades as it marks the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City, which are generally considered the catalyst for the fight for LGBT rights in the United States. President Barack Obama was the first president to declare the month as LGBT Pride Month in 2009 and every year thereafter during his two terms in office. Before that, President Bill Clinton proclaimed June Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in 2000.
Several North Jersey communities have in recent years chosen to fly the Pride flag. The flag was flown outside the Clifton City Hall last year, despite the concerns of some on the City Council that doing so would lead to organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan seeking to raise their flags on city property. The city will raise the rainbow flag again this year on June 24.
The Ridgewood Village Council voted unanimously last month to have the flag at Van Neste Square, after controversy was stirred when the council initially appeared to decline to have the flag raised in town.
At a meeting on May 16, the Westwood Borough Council voted 4-2 to raise the Pride flag in June, which was declared Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month in the borough by mayoral proclamation.
Birkner had initiated the topic at the meeting and asked for a motion from the council to have the flag raised at the borough hall on Washington Avenue.
“This building represents all of Westwood and we should continue to demonstrate our leadership in accepting and appreciating every person’s individuality and right of expression,” Birkner said.
Council members Beth Dell, Christopher Montana, Robert Bicocchi and Peter Grefrath agreed in an informal vote to fly the Pride flag.
Councilmen Ray Arroyo and Christopher Owens abstained.
RIDGEWOOD:Gay Pride flag to fly in Van Neste Square
GLEN ROCK:Council agrees to fly Pride flag
BERGEN:County officials raise gay Pride flag
CLIFTON:After heated debate, Clifton OKs flying Pride flag outside City Hall
“My decision to abstain had nothing to do with the substance of this, it had to do with the process,” Arroyo said in a phone interview this week. “If this is going to open the door to future requests, we should make this decision with our eyes open, not shut.”
Assemblyman Tim Eustace, a Democrat from Maywood who represents District 38, was at the May 16 council meeting, officials said.
Eustace, an openly gay lawmaker, gave the mayor a small Pride flag to hang in his office as a symbol of appreciation, Birkner said last week.
Email: krulish@northjersey.com, carrera@northjersey.com
On the web
Watch videos of Westwood Mayor John Birkner, Jr. talking about why it's important to the borough of Westwood to hang the LGBT Pride flag in June and from Glen Rock's ceremony. Visit njersy.co/westwoodrainbow