HYDE PARK, BOSTON — What started as a small, respectful tribute to America’s veterans in Hyde Park has turned into a neighborhood controversy — after the City of Boston got involved and military flags were taken down from utility poles on Fairmount Avenue.

Residents say the tribute was simple: a set of military branch flags, purchased and mounted by neighbors with verbal approval from Eversource, the utility company that owns the poles. The flags — representing various branches of the U.S. military — were meant to remain through Labor Day.

But within days, they were gone.

One complaint changed everything

According to multiple posts and emails reviewed by Mass Daily News, a single resident objected to the flags, filing repeated complaints via Boston 311. That same resident reportedly tore down the Marine Corps flag with his own hands, shouted at neighbors, and claimed the flags represented “racism,” “ICE,” and political extremism.

A local veteran stepped outside to retrieve the fallen flag. The man continued yelling.

Rather than stand with the community, neighbors say the city — under Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration — contacted Eversource and pressured the company to remove the flags. Though the Eversource union reportedly refused to do so, management sent another worker, who allegedly told residents he didn’t want to remove the flags but was afraid he’d lose his job if he didn’t comply.

Families stunned

Christopher DeRoma, whose family helped coordinate the tribute, told Mass Daily News they only learned the flags had been removed while away on vacation in Washington, D.C. His father, Florindo F. DeRoma — a Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam — passed away in March. The tribute was personal.

“To us, this feels as raw as it is tremendously insulting that my own neighbors would react this way and that the city and Eversource didn’t simply allow common sense to prevail,” Christopher DeRoma said.

“I want the mayor, the city, and especially the aggrieved individual to know that the flags were meant to honor our fellow neighbors who served… the flags offered a tremendous amount of solace to the families whose veterans have since passed away.”

Display was apolitical, neighbors say

Residents have described the display as entirely non-political. It wasn’t tied to any candidate, protest, or event. The flags were small, properly mounted, and hung in full cooperation with Eversource’s guidance.

“The display was not political — it was about honoring veterans in their own community,” one resident wrote in a community post. “Many of whom have made personal sacrifices and continue to struggle with the impacts of service.”

According to the same post, the man who tore down the Marine Corps flag is married to a Boston Public Schools teacher — a detail that has fueled even more frustration over what some see as an ideological overreach into patriotic expression.

Calls for restoration

Outrage has continued to build in the Hyde Park Neighbors Gone Rogue Facebook group, where many residents have expressed disbelief that one individual’s complaint was allowed to override a tribute supported by dozens of families.

Neighbors have contacted City Councilor Enrique Pepén, filed follow-up messages through 311, and reached out to Eversource again — but so far, no response has reversed the decision.

“This neighborhood is full of veterans and non-veterans alike who are appalled at what happened,” DeRoma added. “It will be on their behalf that we will fight to get these flags restored.”

The original Marine Corps flag, the one torn down by hand, has since been returned to the family. The others remain down.

But the battle, they say, is far from over.