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From www.greenpoint.com
"On February 10, 1967, the Greenpoint Weekly Star
carried a story titled "Flag Entry Deadline March 30."
The newspaper reported that the Greenpoint Civic Council
Flag Committee had set a deadline for a contest they
had planned: They were soliciting applications and designs
for a flag that, once chosen, would be the first community
flag in America. The council members - Joseph Savino,
Ralph Carrano, Cathy Meyers, Ray Mizgalski, Hyman Shiffer,
Mary Driscoll, Frank J. Waskiewicz, and Edwin Duffy
- appealed to the community for their entries. Rather
than selecting the winning design in some backroom,
the council, with cooperation from the newspaper, proposed
a typically democratic procedure - the community would
vote by submitting ballots printed in the Greenpoint
Star. Four proposed designs, each of which pictured
in editions of the paper, appeared on the ballot. The
top vote getter was submitted by a young woman named
Ann Kandratino, the granddaughter of Russian immigrants,
and she was heralded in the community as "Greenpoint's
'Betsy Ross'."" On June 7, 1967, the flag-depicting
a scene on the East River, with the buildings of Greenpoint
in silhouette, pictured on a white background-was raised
for the first time. It was an extraordinary celebration.
Mayor John V. Lindsay, spent the afternoon touring the
neighborhoods of Greenpoint. It was a remarkable and
memorable day for the community."
Guillermo Tell Aveledo, 19 August
2000 |