The Pride intersection in Delray Beach in August, before it was painted over by FDOT. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
By John Pacenti
After Gov. Ron DeSantis declared war on painted intersections and crosswalks statewide, Delray Beach began exploring ways to honor its LGBTQ community in a different way after it saw its Pride intersection eradicated by the state Department of Transportation.
After giving up its fight with the state over the intersection in September — only after the state had come in on two consecutive nights to paint over and then sandblast the rainbow colors from the city-owned streets — the City Commission held two meetings about what would replace the intersection. A community engagement forum took place on Oct. 1 and a workshop on Oct. 14.
Yet, the city is nowhere near a solution.
“I want to let the community kind of decide what they want,” Mayor Tom Carney said.
He then opened up the forum for public input. It did not go well.
Some residents urged the commissioners not to spend any taxpayer money on a Pride symbol, whether it be street signs, banners, a mural, or even a sculpture to replace the iconic and beloved rainbow-painted intersection at Northeast Second Avenue and Northeast First Street in downtown’s Pineapple Grove.
After hearing some of these objections, resident Nicholas Coppola — a member of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council — told commissioners, “I could assure you, Jesus would approve of the flag, the rainbow flag, because it is inclusive. It welcomes everybody.”
A man in the commission chambers then shouted, “Not true at all!”
So much for love your neighbor.
Countering Coppola during public comments, resident Steve Blum said, “How much longer are we going to discuss this issue? And the gentleman who came up and said all the Jews would like it (the rainbow intersection). Bullshit. They wouldn’t like it. OK? They don’t care about it.”
Carney corrected Blum: “I don’t think he mentioned Jews. I think he said, ‘Jesus.’”
Though, if the mayor considered it, Jesus was Jewish.
The two meetings took place after the commission, which briefly considered taking DeSantis to court in September before backtracking, instead decided that the city would replace the intersection with another symbol celebrating LGBTQ residents.
Whose dollars, property?
The original rainbow intersection had been paid for through $16,000 from the Human Rights Council in 2021, and much of the debate at the commission workshop focused on whether the city or the private sector should pay for what comes next.
Vice Mayor Rob Long said that he would compromise on the private funding route but would not relent on the symbol, whatever it may be, being on public property.
“We lost something that was on public property,” he said. “If it’s not on public property, then we are not doing anything. And to me, that’s not what we discussed.”
Commissioner Juli Casale said if the new Pride symbol is on public property, the city could still find itself in the crosshairs of DeSantis or GOP lawmakers who have shown animus toward the LGBTQ community.
“We still expose ourselves if this is on public property,” she said. “I think that the best thing to do is to allow the private funders and the private property owners to work together to figure out a way.”
Some public comments at the workshop argued against a new Pride symbol, saying it prioritized the LGBTQ community over, say, veterans and “Christian and faith-based communities.”
Resident Connor Corzine called out the hypocrisy of not only those critics but some commissioners, as well: “We have a 100-foot Christmas tree. Is that publicly funded completely? We have a St. Patty’s Day Parade. Is that publicly funded completely? We have Veterans Park. Is that a publicly funded Veterans Park?”
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