Nicole Buonanno says she has no intention of complying with her landlord's order to remove the flag.
"I can't believe they don't understand what that flag means," she said.
KELLY PRESNELL / Arizona Daily Star
Posted on 01/15/2010 4:04:00 PM PST by SandRat
When her husband left for war, newlywed Nicole Buonanno hung a time-honored tribute in his honor — a flag with a blue star, a symbol since World War I that a loved one in the military is in harm's way.
Now the young bride is in trouble with her Tucson landlord, who wants the tribute taken down from the balcony of the couple's east-side apartment.
On Wednesday, Buonanno received written notice from the management of Finisterra Luxury Rentals that she had 24 hours to remove the offending banner.
She put it up on Jan. 4 — the day her husband, Airman 1st Class Francis Buonanno, left Davis-Monthan Air Force Base for a four- to six-month stint guarding the gates of a U.S. military camp near the Iraq-Kuwait border.
By tradition, a blue-star flag typically is hung in a window of a deployed service member's home. Nicole Buonanno said the size of her flag made that impractical.
The management letter she received said the flag must come down from the balcony "to keep the property looking its best."
Nicole Buonanno said she has no intention of complying. "I can't believe they don't understand what that flag means," she said.
Michelle Calsyn, assistant manager of the gated apartment complex near North Kolb and East Tanque Verde roads, said policy requires "patios and balconies to be kept free and clear of anything hanging."
Asked if she knew what the flag represented, Calsyn said, "We have no further comment."
Jacqueline Steele, president of the Tucson chapter of Blue Star Mothers of America, called the apartment manager's stance "disappointing."
Steele, whose son, Army Pfc. Nicholas Steele, deployed in August for a yearlong tour in Iraq, has two blue-star flags in the windows of her home and yellow ribbons decorating the outside.
She said she lives in an upscale gated community in the Sabino Canyon area and has never had problems with her homeowners association over the displays.
"It's ridiculous, to say the least, and it's unpatriotic for sure," Steele said of the flap over Nicole Buonanno's flag. "I think if the management simply got educated, this could be easily resolved."
Nicole Buonanno, 19, said she and her husband, 21, learned he was war-bound a few weeks after their November wedding.
"It's been very hard," she said. "This is the first time we've been apart for so long, and I want him to know he's not forgotten."
Contact reporter Carol Ann Alaimo at calaimo@azstarnet.com or at 573-4138.
Nicole Buonanno says she has no intention of complying with her landlord's order to remove the flag.
"I can't believe they don't understand what that flag means," she said.
KELLY PRESNELL / Arizona Daily Star
Just more PCBS!!
My guess: This woman knows exactly what the flag symbolizes, and that's why she is acting like the neighborhood Nazi and trying to have it taken down. I wonder if Caslyn is Code Pink or just a regular Obama-voter.
The original blue star banner is about 10” x 5”, sized to fit in the window or doorway of a home. This flag sized banner is an optional item of much more recent vintage.
I think that the woman is grandstanding - looking for her 15 minutes of fame. No sympathy on my end.
Any freepers living in Tucson? The County Assessors office for this location will have the ownership information of the apartment complex. Seems like a mail blitz to the owners is in order.
I abhor neighborhood (nazi) associations.
I live in New Jersey. I’m going to be contacting this Nazi, er, ‘’tenant association’’ in a few minutes.
Well, good for you. I’m sure she was LOOKING just for YOUR sympathy. How devastated she’ll be without it. Now bugger off.
I abhor neighborhood (nazi) associations too, but that isn't what this is.
She is a tenant. The landlord doesn't want tenants hanging any flags or banners from the balconies. If she doesn't like the landlord's rules then she should move to a different apartment.
If I owned the apartments, I would allow her to keep the banner. Of course, I would probably then be sued for sex discrimination by the next tenant who wants to fly a gay pride flag.
Well, I don’t think that I will bugger off.
I have my great grandmother’s blue star banner from WWI with three blue stars on it. My grandmother displayed the same three star banner in WWII for her two sons and daughter. My mother displayed a blue star banner during Vietnam with two blue stars on it. A 10X5 inch banner was fine for them.
This woman is a little drama queen, in my opinion. You of course are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to order me to bugger off.
She is just past being a child, she’s married to a serviceman, she should be enjoying her honeymoon right now; instead, she’d alone with a deployed husband. She’s entitled to fly whatever sized blue star banner she wants.
My son’s mother was in the same boat back in ‘69, a couple months after WE got married. My empathy is directed to the couple who’re apart, not with some apartment manager.
When I was in Vietnam, my wife was an active member of the local waiting wives club on the nearby airbase. I was an army long range reconnaissance platoon leader and she quickly became friends with the wife of a fighter pilot who was flying missions over North Vietnam. They tended to keep their mouths shut about their own problems and their concerns about their husbands. They were not too pleased about several of the wives whose husbands worked in air conditioned offices who risked great injury falling off bar stools every night. These women were the greatest whiners, in her opinion.
I understand that this young woman misses her husband and I respect his willingness to serve. But, his job is not an especially dangerous one, and he’s only deployed for a few months. They will get through it, and she can certainly display her pride in what her husband is doing without pulling this publicity stunt.
But, then I’m just a crocthity old far+, what do I know?
For those interested in giving the apartment comlex what fer
I can only guess they’d love to hear drom you. They probably open at 9:00 . . . . . 10:00 at the latest.
Finisterra Luxury Rentals
6795 East Calle La Paz
Tucson, AZ 85715
Phone: (520) 721-8400
Fax: (520) 721-8500
Grandstanding?? FU!
Thanks for your interest in national defense
From the Paper’s story comment section web link
145. Comment by AJ L. (AJnLee) — January 15,2010 @ 10:53AM
Ratings: -3 +28
“I wanted to share my experience with you from contacting this complex.
Primarily, the lady I spoke with was very courteous. She herself has a husband serving in Afghanistan and she has a 6mo old baby.
They are considering flying this tenant flag at the entrance of the complex to not only honor the tenant’s husband but all military members including the manager’s husband. What a WONDERFUL idea !
They are also considering presenting her with a smaller flag or assist her in displaying her flag inside of her patio.
It sounds to me that this complex is willing to work with the tenant and I applaud them for that.”
Nicole has looks AND determination. Francis Buonanno is one lucky man. God bless them both.
See Reply # 16
Cool.
And she’s still cute. :-)
Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ ~ Housing Guide
Standardized Air Force Housing Brochure (Microsoft Word Document)
They wouldn't discriminate against her for supporting the military. I didn't see anything in the rules and regulations against tying large flags, banners or other objects to the balcony.
I have my grandmother’s flag from WWII. She only had one star as only one of her eight sons (my father) was in the fighting. It was to be placed in a corner of the window.
I’m not getting this either. They have nice little window displays and stickers. How big does it have to be? Jeez. I’m not really feeling the need to get on her bandwagon either.
I had rental property that I rented to soldiers. I retired from the service. If my wife started this kind of trouble at home I’d be having words with her.
Ditto on the drama Queen.
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