Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Tishman Speyer Can't be Bothered to Treat the U.S. Flag with Respect



Alerted by commentary postings on the Lux Living blog, Stuy Town Reporter went out tonight to confirm that, indeed, Tishman Speyer is not lowering the flag of the United States at night as guidelined by the U.S. Flag Code. The flag of the United States is on display at four points in Stuyvesant Town--two at opposite sides of the 14th Street Loop and two at opposite sides of 20th Street Loop. All four flags were up at night, in dark gloom. (I had to brighten considerably the photo above to make one of the flags viewable.)

Here is part of the UNITED STATES CODE TITLE 36 CHAPTER 10, which addresses this issue:

"It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed twenty-four hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness."

The flags at Stuyvesant Town have NO illumination.

The Flag Code is U.S. Federal Law. There is, however, no penalty for failure to comply with this law, so Tishman Speyer is not in legal jeopardy here.

It is a sorry commentary that Tishman Speyer is disregardful of this law and the courtesy behind it that honors not only this country, but the veterans who have served this country. Just as Tishman Speyer has trampled on the intent of the Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village complex, via the affordable housing purpose of the complex, it is trampling on the history of this place, with its strong connection to veterans. Good going, Jerry and Rob Speyer! How much further can you sink in our estimation of you?

UPDATE 3/21/09: The flags are now being taken down for the night. Only one, on the Ave. B side of the 14th Street Loop, is not, due to the rope being twined around the pole. So the flag is stuck there until the problem is fixed.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I recall years ago seeing someone from security lowering the flags near dusk.

One attention to detail that should not be ignored now.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

The flags were raised in the morning and lowered at night. I remember this, too, even fairly recently, unless they were just taken down due to bad weather.

Anonymous said...

TS didn't take the flag down in the snow. They're not concerned about the flag in bad weather or at any other time. They're the Speyers. Rules aren't for them.

Anonymous said...

The Speyers are the scum of the earth.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

It appears that the flags are now being taken down for the night. I'll check tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

Flag is still up at midnight.

Anonymous said...

Tishman Speyer are not good citizens. They are not good American Citizens and they are not good Corporate Citizens. They are part of the corruption, greed, avarice and selfishness that have brought this country to its knees. May they rot in hell with their ilk, Bernie Madoff.

Anonymous said...

Jerry's kid

When Tish goes into foreclosure that flag'll
be the least of our worries!

Anonymous said...

The flag isn't a worry. It's another level of TS's disrespect for everyone.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

The flags are being taken down now. Only one flag isn't, on the Ave. B side of the 14 St. Loop, because the rope is twined around the pole.

Anonymous said...

So why don't they fix it?

Anonymous said...

Has anyone noticed the RIPPED flag flying next to the 1st av peter cooper concierge fishbowl?
This place gets better every day!

Anonymous said...

As someone who used to work for TS now I see all the dirty things this company does. Back then I was to blind to see it, now that I have been laid off (but yet they're still hiring people according to monster and career builder) and i have the time to research online all the dirty deals they did it amazes me this company still exists. The little folks like me get the lay off while all the senior mgrs and managing directors who are known as FOJ's still remain on the job. Im happy I am no longer there. I was overlooked 2 times for a promotion and that just pissed me off. When they got rid of me it was the happiest day of my life.

Anonymous said...

I had the opportunity to smack Rob's smirk off his face several times when we were in the same elevator but I never took the shot. dammit. Screw both father and son. The father is so cheap he uses labor from rock center to take care of issues in his house.

Anonymous said...

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