Delayed Memo From Governor’s Office Slows Lowering of Flags to Half-Staff
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
The flags outside City Hall drooped limply yesterday morning as a tribute to those killed in Asia’s tsunami. They were lowered to half-staff by a proclamation signed January 1 by President Bush, as were the flags outside the federal courthouse, Municipal Building, and the Liberty Street firehouse.
But a quick check around Manhattan found that not everybody had gotten the memo. The American flag outside ground zero was still flying proudly at full-staff, as was the U.N. flag at its headquarters, and the one outside the New York State Insurance Fund building at 199 Church St.
The Insurance Fund’s building manager, Dave Thomas, said he’d heard on the radio that the flags were supposed to be lowered but had not received any official notice. “No one told us,” he said, after checking with his supervisor.
“I’ll take care of it right now.” The flag at ground zero was also later lowered.
So why the delay? Governor Pataki’s press office informed its agencies, but not until late yesterday morning. “Notification was sent to every state owned building operated by the Office of General Services, as well as to the state police and Thruway Authority,” said a spokesperson for the governor, Todd Alhart.
The city, on the other hand, was quick to spread the word. The commissioner for the United Nations Consular Corps and Protocol, Marjorie Bloomberg Tiven, sent an e-mail to agency heads on Sunday. “In accordance with the order of the president of the United States,” it read, and “by order of the mayor of the city of New York…all flags shall be flown at half-staff from Monday, January 3, until further notice.”
A White House spokesman, Ken Lisaius, said President Bush is the ultimate arbiter of when to lower flags nationwide, though some lowerings, such as those commemorating the deaths of former presidents, are set by protocol. The president signed proclamations lowering the flag to half-staff after September 11, 2001; the crash of the Space Shuttle Columbia, and the death of President Reagan.
The lights of the Empire State Building were scheduled to be dimmed in memory of the tsunami victims for 15 minutes starting at 9 p.m. yesterday evening.
