Meyer Wolfsheim

A wave of outrage swept through southern Brooklyn Friday after American and POW/MIA flags were discovered flying upside down at three separate city park locations — a move that many locals saw as a blatant act of disrespect toward the country and its veterans. The New York Post was first to report the incidents, which took place at John J. Carty Park and Fort Hamilton Triangle in Bay Ridge, as well as Bath Beach Park in Bensonhurst.

City officials confirmed to The Post that the Parks Department dispatched crews to correct the improperly displayed flags by Friday afternoon. Notably, Carty Park sits directly next to the Fort Hamilton Army Base, making the apparent disregard for flag etiquette all the more infuriating to the local community.

Flying the U.S. flag upside down is officially recognized as a distress signal under the U.S. Flag Code — a call for help in cases of extreme danger. However, it has also been adopted in recent years by various protest movements as a symbol of political defiance or contempt for the government. As The New York Post highlighted, many residents viewed the act not as a cry for help, but as a calculated insult.

“I’m honestly shocked this happened in Bay Ridge,” said Michael Ragusa, a local GOP operative and city correction officer. “Just a few years ago, this was one of the last solid Republican neighborhoods left in Brooklyn. Now, it’s clear that the same un-American behavior we see spreading elsewhere is taking hold right here — and New York City politicians are helping fuel it,” he told The Post.

The city has not identified the individuals responsible, but the Parks Department told The Post it has warned Brooklyn’s regional managers to remain alert for similar incidents at other park locations. Two eyewitnesses at Carty Park reported seeing a group of teenage boys tampering with the flags on Thursday — lowering them via the rope system and adjusting them, though the observers left before seeing the flags turned upside down.

“This is disrespectful,” said 29-year-old John Meister, who visited the park Friday with his two young children. “A lot of veterans gave their lives for this country.”

The incident also sparked a political back-and-forth. Councilman Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn), who represents the area and is term-limited, made light of the situation by joking on X that Conservative Party Chair Gerard Kassar was behind the flag stunt. That comment drew swift condemnation from Ragusa and others. “It shows he’s not serious — about his job, his constituents, or this country,” Ragusa said in The Post’s coverage.

Brooklyn Republican Party Chairman Richie Barsamian, who is running for Brannan’s seat, also slammed the councilman’s comment as “terribly inappropriate,” noting it may have been a dig at Kassar’s regular participation in Bay Ridge’s annual Memorial Day flag-raising ceremonies.

Both Barsamian and Brannan said they contacted the Parks Department after receiving complaints from concerned constituents. Brannan later clarified through a spokesperson that he respects the American flag and believes it “belongs to all of us — not to any one political party.” He added, “Nobody should be messing with the flag like that. It’s disrespectful to all who fought and died upholding our values,” The New York Post reported.