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Article
and Video Courtesy of Count-On-2-News-First
By Delia D'Ambra
Published
October 17, 2017
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 Watch
VIDEO
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The American flag has sparked a nasty war of words at
a condo complex in Southwest Florida.
A man living where Hurricane Irma first made landfall put the flag out
to support first responders.
Now, his condo association is
threatening him with a lawsuit.
Frank Apuzzo received a letter from the La Peninsula
Condo Association just days after Hurricane Irma ripped
through the community on the Isles of Capri.
The board demanded Apuzzo take the flag down.
"You can't modify your unit without approval. You need
to remove it immediately, or we're going to take you to
arbitration, and we're going to do this legal stuff and
sue you," Apuzzo said. |
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He says the flag was a sign of hope to him and his
neighbors trying to rebuild after the storm.
"I just took solace in it to be able to sit here at the end of the day,
all beat up, no air conditioning, no power, nothing. Little bit of a
breeze and the flag blowing gently in the background, it was nice, I
loved it," Apuzzo said.
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Federal law actually protects Apuzzo's actions.
The Freedom To Display the American Flag Act, passed in
2006, prohibits condo associations from restricting
homeowners from displaying the United States flag on their
property.
"Whoever is complaining has nothing better to do. I think
the association has to bend. If he wants to fly a flag, he
should be able to," said another resident, Will Ingoglia.
"I don't see how it’s hurting anybody; I don't believe I’m
doing anything wrong," Apuzzo said.
We reached out to the condo association, but they have not
returned our calls. |
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Apuzzo is keeping his flag up. A neighbor from the building next to
Apuzzo has been flying an American flag off of his porch for more than a
decade and says he's never gotten a letter asking to take it down.
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