Removal Of Patriotic Banners Incites Fairfield Facebook Firestorm

FAIRFIELD, CT — A complaint about patriotic banners on Sherman Green has ignited a firestorm on social media.

The conflict began last week, when Representative Town Meeting member Dru Mercer Georgiadis, D-District 9, contacted Parks & Recreation Department Director Anthony Calabrese about the owner of a downtown business placing 17 red, white and blue banners on the public site.

Georgiadis said one of her constituents — former selectwoman and acting first selectwoman Sherri Steeneck — had asked why the banners were on the green.

“All I was trying to find out for my constituent was, had they been approved?” Georgiadis said.

Saugatuck Sweets Owner Al DiGuido asked in March, amid the rise of the coronavirus pandemic, if he could put up the banners and light a tree, which he had previously donated to the town, according to Calabrese.

“It was a verbal agreement between Al and I that he could keep the tree lit, and he could put the flags on the green,” Calabrese said, adding he and DiGuido had determined the banners would come down Wednesday to allow space for the farmers market and summer concerts. DiGuido removed the banners and lights Tuesday.

Town procedures for trees, signs and other displays from businesses and individuals require approval by the Parks & Recreation Commission, which had stopped meeting due to the pandemic at the time DiGuido made his request. Calabrese has granted similar approvals in the past when the commission is between meetings, according to a news release from the office of First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick.

Kupchick’s office issued the news release Wednesday after DiGuido discussed the controversy involving the banners in a post Tuesday on the Saugatuck Sweets Facebook page. By Wednesday afternoon, the post had more than 500 comments, supporting DiGuido and urging him to leave the banners up, or, in some cases, noting the banners were on town property and required authorization.

“I wanted to bring Americana into that green so that there would be a stronger sense of community and patriotism in the town,” DiGuido said Wednesday, referring questions about town policy to Fairfield officials. “… I have been humbled by the level of response and positivity that I’ve received from the townspeople of Fairfield.”

In a Facebook post Wednesday, Kupchick said Sherman Green had been decorated with American flags, and that the tree DiGuido donated would be lit through the Fourth of July weekend. DiGuido was initially granted approval to light the tree only during the holiday season.

“In this age of social media we have a responsibility as a community to be respectful of one another, listen to each other and seek more information before jumping to conclusions,” Kupchick said in the post.

The Parks & Recreation Commission will consider later in July whether the banners can be returned to the green and if the tree lights can be lit year-round, according to Calabrese.