NYS Legislature Approves Hate Symbol Ban On Public Properties

ALBANY, NY — Legislation that was partially inspired by the display of Confederate flags by alleged members of two Long Island fire departments passed the New York State Assembly on Wednesday and it is headed for the desk of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The legislation prohibits the display of hate symbols like the flag of the Confederacy, a symbol that has become synonymous with slavery in the Old South, on government properties.

The ban addresses the placement of hate symbols on properties like firehouses, ambulance companies, police stations, and other taxpayer-funded facilities like town and village halls. It would also include outdoor structures such as flag poles and monuments, vehicles, as well as employee/volunteer uniforms.

If signed into law, the legislation would not only prohibit public employees but also unpaid volunteers, who may donate their time at the facility, from displaying the symbols.

Senate bill sponsor Sen. Anna Kaplan (D-North Hills) said that you would "think it was common sense that taxpayer property can't be used as a platform for hate, but shockingly there's no law saying so."

"Public property belongs to all of us, and this measure is critical to ensure that our public property isn't used to promote hatred," said Kaplan, adding, "I'm proud that, together with my partner Assemblymember Michaelle Solages, we were able to get this legislation passed through both houses of the Legislature, and I look forward to the Governor signing it into law this year. It's simply too important, and we can't wait any longer to get it done."

Solages, a Democrat from Elmont, said "hate-inspired symbols will never be tolerated" in New York, and she is proud to partner with Kaplan to ensure "all municipal corporations adhere to that very sentiment."

"Now more than ever, it is imperative that New York State stands firm and consistent in our commitment to denouncing hate, bigotry, and intolerance in all its forms," she added.

If signed into law, it would expand on legislation last year that prohibits the sale of hate symbols on public property, including also the display, except when it is for educational or historical purposes.

The legislation proposing the ban was introduced in February.

The Brookhaven Fire Department took some heat last August after a member displayed a Confederate flag on a fire truck during a parade for a sick Patchogue firefighter. The department's attorney, Joseph Frank, told Patch back in February that the members later resigned.

Frank said that the Board of Fire Commissioners fully supports the legislation and fire district, as well as department leaders "embrace the diversity of our community and support efforts to make the fire service and our society more inclusive.”

The department was working alongside the Suffolk County Division of Human Rights on a sensitivity training program so all members "understand the concepts behind why certain objects are considered symbols of hate and have no place in fire departments and other governmental entities," Frank said.

A Confederate flag was also previously displayed inside a Levittown firehouse.

It hung inside a room at the Levittown Fire Department’s Bethpage station next to a "Don't tread on me" flag up until about 2018, Kaplan's office said. The department's drill team nickname was the Rebels and its mascot was a bearded man wearing a gray Civil War uniform and holding a Confederate flag, Newsday reported. In an interview last year, Chief Al Williams told the outlet that the symbols were removed.

The Levittown Fire Department did not comment at the time the legislation was introduced.

A similar bill that also would ban the display of political campaign materials inside of government buildings passed the Senate earlier this week but did not make it out of the Assembly as the session closed on Friday.

A spokesman for Kaplan said she and her office staffers were proud to see it passed in the Senate “and believe we will be able to get it done in both houses next year early in the session.”