The flags flying at local parks and triangles were in rough shape by the end of winter. JPCA President Tony Nunziato was appalled when he first noticed that the American flag displayed at Whitefish Triangle in Maspeth was extremely tattered. He reached out to Nelson Fung, Administrative Park & Recreation Manager with the NYC Parks Department. Nelson replied that the cable was broken, and that Parks did not have the capability to reach the top of the flagpole. Tony contacted his friend and fellow Queensboro UNICO member, Enrico Boletti, who is a firefighter with Squad 1. Enrico arranged with Ladder 136 – the “Elmhurst Eagles” – to have the flags taken down via their ladder truck on May 15. They ran a new cable and installed clips to hold new flags, which can once again be raised and lowered. The Eagles plan to return to tend to other distressed park flags in the area. This arrangement to protect our American flags is a positive for our proud community. And what better group is there to protect the emblem of our country than one named after another of its symbols?