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Bangor won’t repaint its Pride crosswalk after vandals defaced it twice in a matter of days.
Bangor Public Works told News Center Maine that it has no plans to repaint the crosswalk. Last week, city spokesperson David Warren declined to comment on whether it would be repainted when asked by the Bangor Daily News.
The rainbow flag just before the crosswalk where Hammond Street crosses Kenduskeag Stream was vandalized on June 1 and then again on June 4 after Public Works repainted it. It was painted on the street on May 27.
It’s located near where three teenagers in 1984 killed Charlie Howard, an openly gay man who was thrown into Kenduskeag Stream despite pleading and saying he couldn’t swim. He drowned.
A memorial for Howard is located along the stream and becomes a place for members of the state’s LGBTQ+ community to gather during Pride Month to remember him.