Mayor sparks outrage after removing Italian-American community’s historic flag road markings due to ‘safety concerns’

Tensions between local officials and Italian–Americans in Newton, Massachusetts, are continuing to rise after the mayor removed the community’s historic flag road markings because of ‘safety concerns’.  

The St Mary of Carmen Festival – an annual celebration of Italian–American culture – began in the Nonantum neighborhood of Massachusetts this week, but this year’s festivities were underscored by an ongoing dispute between community members and local officials.

It all began when Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller called for the removal of Nonantum’s iconic tri–colored street lines that have symbolized Italian–American pride in the neighborhood since 1935.

Volunteers have re–painted the red, white and green stripes annually for the past 90 years to ‘honor the Blessed Mother and to mark the path of the Saint Mary of Carmen procession to our church,’ festival organizers say.

However, on the night of June 26, Nonantum residents were awoken from their sleep to the ‘deafening’ sound of street work, said festival chairman Chuck Proia.

On the roads outside, workers were removing the emblematic colorful markings and replacing them with standard double yellow lines. 

Fuller said the lines were repainted as part of a safety upgrade after a traffic analysis identified Adams Street – where the markings are located – as one of the city’s top five crash areas last year. 

‘Our country has uniform standards for roads in order to allow us to drive anywhere in the US without having to understand local customs,’ Fuller explained to the Boston Globe.

The St Mary of Carmen Festival – an annual celebration of Italian–American culture – began in the Newton neighborhood of Massachusetts this week, but this year’s festivities were underscored by an ongoing dispute between community members and local officials

It all began when Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller (pictured) called for the removal of Nonantum’s iconic tri–colored street lines that have symbolized Italian–American pride in the neighborhood since 1935

Volunteers have re–painted the red, white and green stripes annually for the past 90 years to ‘honor the Blessed Mother and to mark the path of the Saint Mary of Carmen procession to our church,’ according to festival organizers

This week, one local took matters into his own hands and painted over the double yellow lines on Adams Street with red, white and green. 

Officers found the ‘fresh’ paint at 2:30am on Wednesday, and a 54–year–old man was later identified, briefly detained and released in relation to the incident, Police Lieutenant Amanda Henrickson said.

Police plan to seek complaints against the suspect for violating state property damage laws, Henrickson said on Thursday. 

The vandalism came after fierce backlash from locals against the mayor’s controversial ‘safety’ call.  

‘I’m happy he did it,’ Jimmy Donovan, 64, said of the vandal on Thursday. ‘Somebody’s actually doing what everybody wants to do.’

‘It’s like the veins of the festival, that’s how deep this cuts,’ Donovan said of the lines. 

Anthony Colombo – a board member on the Italian American Civil Rights League – wrote a letter to Fuller, outlining the community’s disappointment with her decision to get rid of the lines, which he describes as, ‘a cherished symbol of cultural pride and identity’.

‘To paint over [the lines] – mere days before the festival – was not only tone–deaf but culturally destructive,’ the letter stated.

Colombo went on to make a list of demands on behalf of the League, including a formal apology, public commitment to allow the traditional tricolors permanently and a meeting between Fuller’s administration and the community to ‘ensure a meaningful collaboration going forward’. 

A Newton resident told NBC10 Boston, ‘It’s very sad. It’s disheartening. She’s not inclusive. We feel discriminated against.’ 

On the night of June 26, Nonantum residents were awoken from their sleep to the ‘deafening’ sound of street work, said festival chairman Chuck Proia (pictured)

Over 2,000 residents of the Newton neighborhood have signed a petition to reclaim this piece of their culture

A Newton resident (pictured) told NBC10 Boston, ‘It’s very sad. It’s disheartening. She’s not inclusive. We feel discriminated against.’

‘It’s more than just lines,’ another local said, ‘it’s blood sweat and tears.’

Meanwhile, Proia said festival organizers had nothing to do with Wednesday night’s vandalism, but that he’s not shocked. 

‘It’s not surprising, knowing the passion of the people here about the culture, our identity, the festival, and their feelings toward losing any part of that,’ he said. 

Over 2,000 neighbors have signed a petition to reclaim this piece of their culture.