Local veteran upset about tattered flag outside condo

Article Courtesy of Channel 25 WPBF ABC NEWS

By Angela Rozier

Published August 28, 2019

LAKE WORTH -- A local veteran is upset because one of the American flags flying outside his condominium complex in suburban Lake Worth has been tattered for months and no one has replaced it.

U.S. Air Force veteran Richard Rosen said he complained to the Gramercy At Poinciana Condominium Association board president.

Rosen said the flag has been tattered for about six months.

"My concern is that our flag is deteriorated beyond belief, it's a disgrace," Rosen said. "It really needs to be taken down, handled properly and a new flag put up."

A condominium board representative told WPBF Monday afternoon they have a new flag and plan to replace the old flag on Tuesday.

A board member for the association released this statement, "This is to reiterate what Ms. O’Brien and Ms. Lanteri, Gramercy Condo Association members, told you today about the US flag issue at the Gramercy Bldg in Lake Worth Beach, FL. Please note that the condo owner did make a request to replace the US flag; however, the building had priority maintenance issues that needed to be addressed prior to addressing the new flag.

I was also in NY for over a month. It should be noted that the placement of the flag is not accessible without an extremely long ladder or cherry picker; one cannot just scale the building and replace it. I have a flag, which was provided to me from a Veterans association, and that flag had been in my possession for some time. A contractor was hired apx 2 weeks ago to hang the flag and replacement was already scheduled for tomorrow. Please note that the Gramercy would never disrespect the flag or our Veterans. We have many Veterans who reside in our building, as well as family members who served our country. To avoid future flag issues, the Gramercy board is going to ask for volunteers for a Flag Committee and those participants will handle the replacement of the flag."