New York City officials say they plan to raise a Pride flag at the Stonewall National Monument this week, setting up a direct clash with the federal government at one of the most symbolic sites in LGBTQ+ history.
The move comes after federal officials quietly removed the flag earlier this year, following new guidance from the Trump administration that sharply limits which flags can fly at properties overseen by the National Park Service. Local leaders argue the decision erases queer history at the very place where the modern gay rights movement took root.
Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said Tuesday that city and state officials intend to restore the Pride flag on Thursday at the federally managed park across from the Stonewall Inn.
“This is about visibility and memory,” Hoylman-Sigal said. “The people who stood up here in 1969 faced real danger. Honoring that legacy requires action, not silence.”
A Flashpoint at a Historic Site
The Stonewall Inn became a landmark in 1969 after patrons resisted a police raid, sparking days of protests that reshaped LGBTQ+ activism nationwide. While the bar itself remains privately owned, the small park across Christopher Street was designated a national monument in 2016, placing it under federal oversight.
That distinction has now become a legal and political fault line.
According to Hoylman-Sigal, the flag will be raised on land managed by the National Park Service, a move likely to draw scrutiny from the Department of the Interior. Federal officials confirmed the Pride flag had been taken down earlier this year but stopped short of addressing the city’s plan to reinstall it.
Federal Policy and a Broader Shift
In a statement, the Department of the Interior said the removal followed government-wide rules limiting flag displays at federal sites.
“Only the U.S. flag and other authorized flags are flown on NPS-managed flagpoles, with limited exceptions,” the department said, citing guidance from the General Services Administration and internal policy.
Neither the Interior Department nor the National Park Service immediately responded to questions about whether the Pride flag would be removed again if raised by city officials.
The flag dispute fits into a larger pattern under the Trump administration, which has pursued policies it frames as opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. In recent months, the National Park Service has altered or removed exhibits addressing slavery at historic sites in Philadelphia and announced plans to reinstall a statue of Confederate general Albert Pike in Washington, D.C.
Community Pushback Continues
Hoylman-Sigal described the flag removal as part of a wider campaign targeting LGBTQ+ communities.
“This administration keeps finding new ways to send a message about who belongs,” he said. “That message doesn’t match New York’s values.”
Pride flags remain prominently displayed at the Stonewall Inn and its adjacent visitor center, both of which are privately owned. Brandon Wolf, national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, said those displays will continue regardless of federal action.
“Stonewall has always been about showing up,” Wolf said in a statement. “That spirit doesn’t disappear because of a policy memo.”
As city officials prepare to raise the flag once more, the moment has become about more than fabric on a pole. At Stonewall, the question now is whether a federal monument can honor history while restricting the symbols tied to it.
