The Loudest American Flag in America! Right Here In Our Promenade Park!

Has this ever happened to you at the Promenade Park, as it does to me regularly?  You are gazing out at the million-dollar Catskill Mountains view from the fence when your attention and the quiet surrounding you are broken by a loud CLANGing sound of metal on metal from behind and above.  CLANG! A pause.  CLANG! CLANG!  Pause.  CLANG!  And on and on it goes.  You can no longer concentrate on the scenery; you no longer feel serene.  You are totally distracted by a persistent and unnatural noise.  

You turn around (even if you have done this on previous visits), look up at the flag fluttering in the intermittent breeze and you notice the metal weight at the bottom of the flag is slamming into the metal flagpole each time the breeze dies down.  You hear it again.  CLANG! CLANG!  You see the marks on the pole where the weight has been hitting it for years.  You know the reason for the unwelcome noise, and you say "Why in hell does that have to be so noisy? Why is this ignored by the city?"  

"Welcome to the park," I think the flag is trying to say with each CLANG!  "Good luck trying to enjoy the peace and quiet and focus on the wonderful view."  CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! "God Bless America!" CLANG! CLANG!

It's difficult to imagine that DPW Superintendent Robert Perry doesn't know that the noise from the flag weight hitting the flagpole is an annoying, unwelcome nuisance that could easily be removed.  Who knows, maybe he never visits the park, but someone at DPW has to be aware of it.  DPW could use rubber, styrofoam, or some other soft material to cover the weight, and, if possible, the pole where the weight contacts it.  But for some reason, they don't bother doing anything about the noisiest god damn American flag in the country. 

Robert Perry's phone number, or at least the DPW clerk's number, is 518-828-9458.  If you do talk to Mr. Perry about the unnecessarily noisy and disruptive flag in Promenade Park and he tells you that there is nothing DPW can do about it, tell him that the noise is preventable and to try a little harder, and that other communities have figured it out.  There is no reason for a flag to be so noisy and disruptive.  No reason to have anything CLANGing in any public park, especially at Promenade, our most popular outdoor destination.  Doing nothing should not be an option.  We all deserve better.

I think that the settlers of Hudson would agree, don't you?  And Thomas Cole, too, for that matter.

Do you think there was a CLANGing
American flag waving in Promenade
Park 230 years ago?