Greenpoint, New York (U.S.)

Last modified: 2002-09-28 by rick wyatt
Keywords: greenpoint | new york | united states |
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by Guillermo Tell Aveledo, 19 August 2000

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• New York
• United States

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."