Commission ok’s Jefferson statue move to historical society
A statue of Thomas Jefferson stands in the Council Chambers at City Hall in New York City. The New York City Public Design Commission voted unanimously on November 15 to approve the statue's long-term loan to the New-York Historical Society.
By Crystal Cranmore
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NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — The New York City Public Design Commission voted unanimously Monday to approve the long term loan of the controversial Thomas Jefferson statue in the Council Chambers at City Hall to the New-York Historical Society.
There was unanimous agreement last month to move the 7-foot-tall statue, which has stood in the chambers for more than a century, but not on where it should go.
Community leaders have been trying to remove the Jefferson statue for decades, and the latest battle came during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in June 2020, after City Council sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio calling for the statue’s removal since Jefferson was a slave owner.
Still, there was a desire for the public to continue to have access to the historic art piece.
“That statue can no longer exist in those chambers,” Councilman Daneek Miller said. “It’s time has just come.”
The New-York Historical Society had been on the table, but some wanted to explore other alternatives.
“It was a gift to the city by a Jewish naval officer in honor of Jefferson’s position on religious freedom,” historian Todd Fine said. “It should stay in the building.”
Some commission members were concerned with putting it at the New-York Historical Society because it is privately run and charges a $22 admission fee for adults.
They wanted it to be at a location that is free for entry, like another part of City Hall.
However, it appeared the Historical Society’s “pay-as-you-wish” admission policy on Friday evenings assuaged their concerns.
The commission also made the case that the work will be part of educational programs there.
Once moved, the statue will be displayed in the museum’s first-floor lobby for approximately six months before ultimately being placed in a corner of a reading room.
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