The Trump Administration has removed the Pride flag displayed outside the Stonewall National Monument, a move that has seen backlash from local leaders, advocates, and allies.
The Stonewall National Monument located in Greenwich Village, Manhattan is a historical landmark for the LGBTQ+ community. The removal of the flag follows a National Park Service (NPS) directive banning certain types of flags at park sites including “non-agency flags and pennants” that are not the U.S. flag or the Interior Department flag. However, the directive also makes exceptions for military and historical flags. Ahead of this change, the NPS also made changes to Stonewall’s website, removing words like “trans” and “non-binary” in 2025.
According to a CNN a statement from Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said these changes are “part of the Trump Administration’s attempt to reshape the Park Service in a manner that conforms with his right-wing base of support, excluding minority groups and LGBTQ people.”
Leaders, organizations, and allies have pushed back on the removal this week. On Tuesday, the New York City Council pressed the NPS to restore the Pride flag display at the monument in a letter sent to federal officials.
Local leaders emphasized the importance of the monument. “The events that took place there catalyzed a global movement for dignity, equality and freedom, guiding principles upon which our nation was founded. The Pride flag has long flown as a symbol of that struggle and of the resilience of a community that continues to fight for its basic rights,” the letter reads.
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani also released statements on the removal. “I am outraged by the removal of the Rainbow Pride Flag from Stonewall National Monument,” he said on an X post. “New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change, or silence, that history.”
“Our city has a duty not just to honor this legacy, but to live up to it. I will always fight for a New York City that invests in our LGBTQ+ community, defends their dignity, and protects every one of our neighbors— without exception,” Mamdani added.
Some leaders called for an official event to re-raise the flag on Feb. 12 at the Stonewall National Monument. Those who will be present at the event include the U.S. Representative Dan Goldman, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, State Senators Eric Bottcher and Brian Kavanagh, and Assembly members Deborah Glick and Tony Simone.
“We’re just going to try to fly it again. It may be taken down. We may be blocked from even doing so, there may be federal officers preventing us, but we certainly are going to try in the spirit of stonewall,” said Hoylman-Sigal.
