Photo via City of Delray Beach
Audio By Carbonatix
In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) officials blacked out the rainbow-colored pride display at an intersection in Delray Beach, the city confirmed to New Times.
The intersection at Northeast 1st Street and Northeast 2nd Avenue is one of a few South Florida pride displays under attack by Gov. Ron DeSantis and FDOT’s crackdown on so-called “distracting” street art. In recent weeks, South Florida officials in Fort Lauderdale, Key West, Miami Beach, and Delray Beach pushed back against the June order to remove the public street art or face funding cuts. On Monday night, FDOT officials sent a letter to the city demanding they remove the symbol of inclusion, Delray Beach spokeswoman Gina Carter told New Times in a written statement.
Fewer than 12 hours later, under the dark cover of night, FDOT took matters into its own hands by painting over the display with what appears to be a Pantone Black 6 XGC (though we’re no experts in the matter).
Overnight in Delray Beach, as a city slept, officials say the state showed up with a bucket of black paint and removed its rainbow crosswalk (photo from Delray P.D.) pic.twitter.com/CPQO8GwyCe
— Steve Bousquet (@stevebousquet) September 9, 2025
“Before dawn on September 9, 2025, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) unilaterally removed the Delray Beach Pride Intersection…” the Delray Beach statement reads.
“This immediate action by FDOT did not allow the city commission the opportunity to review the order as an elected government body and decide how to move forward,” Carter said in the written statement. “By acting outside of its process, FDOT disregarded the City’s good-faith efforts to follow established procedures.
“While FDOT’s action cannot be undone, Delray Beach remains steadfast in its commitment to unity, respect, and the fundamental human rights that belong to every member of our community.”
FDOT hasn’t returned New Times‘ request for comment.
Though the previously aforementioned Pantone Black 6 XGC – or whichever version of black paint FDOT utilized –
seems not to have made it, in its entirety, to Tuesday morning. When the dawn broke, as it tends to, the rainbow crosswalk emerged once again, with bright bars of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and even purple.
You see, Delray Beach encountered heavy thunderstorms overnight, and the Act of God appears to have smudged the fresh black paint, revealing the rainbow underneath. Then, tire tread marks carried the mysterious paint through the four-way intersection. It seems there really is somewhere Over the Rainbow (or apparently, under it).
DeSantis signed a bill in June requiring FDOT to remove any noncompliant street or sidewalk art, a move widely seen as targeting rainbow crosswalks that celebrate LGBTQ Pride. On Thursday, Miami Beach became the latest city to push back against the attempted erasure with an appeal at the State Division of Administrative Hearings, joining Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Key West, according to NBC 6.
In their appeal, Miami Beach city attorneys argue that FDOT’s Memorandum 25-01 goes beyond guidance, effectively creating new rules. They say the memo bans certain design features, orders their removal, and threatens penalties, including withholding state funds or having FDOT step in directly, though existing law doesn’t outline such restrictions.
So far, FDOT has targeted:
- Miami Beach’s “terrazzo pavers” at Ocean Drive and 12th Street, where you can walk across not one, but three glorious multi-colored art-deco-style crosswalks
- Fort Lauderdale’s “Progress Pride Walkway” on Sebastian Street between Seabreeze Boulevard and Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard
- Delray Beach’s four-way pride crosswalk at Northeast 1st Street and Northeast 2nd Avenue
- Key West’s rainbow crosswalks at Duval and Petronia Streets.
New Times is reviewing where South Florida’s other public Pride displays stand with FDOT.
