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Why were Juneteenth flags still up and tattered?

Nine months after the festival, flags are still up and tattered.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — When a viewer asked why flags on a summer parade route were still up nine months later, we checked it out. It turns out the red, black and green flags from the Juneteenth Festival are still on light poles, but they are tattered.

The flags are flying on Genesee Street and Fillmore Avenue entering MLK Park.

The flags were donated to the Juneteenth Festival Organization. While they wanted the flags to remain up longer, they are not made to withstand the summer heat and winter cold. As a result they are not eye-pleasing because they are torn and fading in color.

Festival President Marcus Brown said, "we needed weather proof flags if we wanted them to stay up all year."

The City of Buffalo wanted to take them down months ago, but they were told not to by someone claiming to represent the Juneteenth group. It all changed Friday afternoon when Brown asked that the flags be removed.

Buffalo Public Works Commissioner Steve Stepniak quickly resolved the situation and sent crews out to remove the flags within a couple of hours. He also took an additional step and put the poles in a city storage garage so they will be available whenever new flags are ready.

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