Sept. 25--WEST HAVEN -- Thomas Hackley says he was lucky to make it out of a World Trade Center tower on 9/11 when he was making a delivery. And he felt so strongly about those who didn't, he erected a memorial to them in his backyard.
For the past year, he's lit the American flag and another representing the Twin Towers with a spotlight. Now, the display is the subject of a blight complaint.
Hackley fought the blight ordinance ticket at a Board of Police Commissioners meeting, saying the $100 fine was unfair.
"I was lighting up the American flag. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Maybe in West Haven there is. I'm sorry," Hackley told the commission last week.
But the commissioners and officers involved say because the bright spotlight consistently disturbed a neighbor and wasn't aimed directly up at the flag, the light needs to be changed and the ticket must be upheld.
"I commend anyone flying the flag," said commission Chairman Raymond Collins, after naming relatives who served in the military. "But this light doesn't light the flag."
The matter came before the police commission because the commission hears appeals for blight tickets. The flag and light issue stands in contrast to typical blight complaints of dilapidated homes, tall grass and curb garbage -- all things that had prompted the new blight ordinance, which went into effect this summer.
Hackley shared his story, admitting he and his neighbor have had several disagreements over the years. He described the floodlight that first illuminated the flag, saying it used to shine over a backyard swimming pool that is no longer there. He said his neighbor complained multiple times about the brightness, and after meeting with police, he shut off the floodlight and installed a dimmer light that shone up only at the flag.
"The police have been there several times. They said nothing was wrong, nothing illegal. The Building Department saw it. The zoning enforcement officer said it was fine," he told commissioners.
But after he began using the dimmer light this summer, a rock flew over his fence and broke the light, Hackley said. He turned on the bright floodlight again that night to continue lighting his flag. He received the blight ticket Aug. 2.
Capt. Richard DiMeola, who had responded to the neighbor's complaints multiple times, said there was "an intrusion of light from his property," and that he attempted mediation between the neighbors. Hackley did not want to participate in a session and spoke to DiMeola alone.
"I saw the light, and it would not illuminate the flag, but shine at the neighbors. I viewed it outside and inside at the neighbor's house," DiMeola told commissioners.
DiMeola said the floodlight was back on for multiple nights, but Hackley maintains it was on for one night and he again installed a smaller one at the flags' base.
Joseph Laird, the neighbor who made the complaint, said he believes the light was pointed at his house in retaliation for tit-for-tat behavior between him and Hackley's family in recent years. It lit up his living room, kitchen and halfway down a hallway, he said.
"I couldn't go into the front yard without being blinded," said Laird, who said he is moving from his home due to the issues with his neighbor.
"It was just a 300-watt spotlight shining directly on my house. ... It's a beautiful flag and it's nice to be illuminated, but not in that fashion."
According to DiMeola, Hackley committed a blight offense under the ordinance clause deeming premises blighted if they are "creating a substantial and unreasonable interference with the reasonable and lawful use and enjoyment of other premises in the neighborhood."
When commissioners questioned whether Hackley called police when the rock broke his light, he said he did not.
Commissioner Bud Giaquinto, a veteran, said he also supports anyone flying the American flag, but that it's "unfortunate" Hackley did not call police about the rock incident.
"It would have given police an opportunity to investigate it, resolve it and give you a chance to reinstall it," he said. "There's no law, certainly, against lighting the flag, but it has to be done appropriately without disturbing anyone else."
Call Susan Misur at 203-789-5742. Follow her on Twitter @NHRsusan.
Copyright 2012 - New Haven Register, Conn.
