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Weeks after the removal and restoration of the LGBTQ+ Pride flag at Stonewall National Monument in New York City, one activist has launched a GoFundMe campaign to fund a camera installation to monitor the site.
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Michael Petrelis, an AIDS and LGBTQ+ rights activist, launched the campaign on February 15, seeking to raise $5,000 to purchase, install, and stream five cameras continuously at Christopher Park, a parcel of land in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan where the monument is located. The campaign notes that no private cameras are currently filming the site.
Related: Chuck Schumer drafts bill to protect Pride flags at national park sites like Stonewall memorial
“That way, all future visits to Christopher Park, which comprises the heart of the monument, by any federal worker will be recorded on video that we control,” the online description reads.
President Donald Trump last month barred the display of the Pride flag on certain federal properties, including sites managed by the National Park Service. The Pride flag was removed from Stonewall in February, but was replaced by local officials and LGBTQ activists shortly after.
Stonewall National Monument commemorates the 1969 uprising at the nearby Stonewall Inn, where LGBTQ+ patrons resisted a police raid in an event widely seen as a turning point in the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. The Stonewall Inn is a private business without any connection to the federal government.
The campaign notes it will not place any cameras on federal land, but rather on neighboring “private residences” and “small businesses.” One camera would be aimed at the flagpole, and the others at the park entrances, according to the description.
“That way, the community always controls the streaming,” the campaign reads.
Owners of the Stonewall Inn did not return phone calls or email requests for comment on the idea, including whether they would support such an installation on their property or help fund the purchase of a camera.
If the campaign is successful, any unused funds would be given to Steven Love Menendez, a volunteer who helps maintain the flagpole, for beautification projects at the site, according to the campaign.
Details about the campaign can be found on the GoFundMe website.
This article was written as part of the Future of Queer Media fellowship program at The Advocate, which is underwritten by a generous gift from Morrison Media Group. The program helps support the next generation of LGBTQ+ journalists.
