When it comes to monuments, Mayor de Blasio now believes addition is better than subtraction.
That was his explanation on Friday for why a five-month initiative he launched to review “all symbols of hate on city property” resulted in the relocation of just one work of art.
A monument to Dr. J Marion Sims, who’s heralded for advances in gynecology but condemned for experimenting on female slaves, will be moved from Central Park to Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
Even a historical marker Hizzoner tweeted in August would be the first one “removed” — a sidewalk record of a parade for French Nazi collaborator Henri Philippe Petain — is staying put, as are statues of Christopher Columbus and Theodore Roosevelt.
All four monuments will have historical text added nearby to present the figures’ successes and faults in a fuller light.
“The notion of being additive takes us forward. We need to start, in each place where there are these real concerns, putting the counter view in plain site,” the mayor told WNYC radio. “The absence of those additional views and that balance I think has been absolutely a mistake. We now want to see what it means to give people the full picture and how that will help us have a different dialogue in this city.”
The mayor launched what was supposed to be a 90-day panel in the wake of violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, that was tied to battles over removing statues of confederate leaders.
But the city’s review sparked its own protests and rallies over specific figures — particularly a vocal Italian-American defense of the Columbus Circle statue honoring the controversial explorer.
While de Blasio initially said the panel would review “all statues and monuments that in any way may suggest hate or division or racism, anti-Semitism, any kind of message that is against the values of New York City,” in the end the whole affair centered on four monuments.
Officials said the nearly five-month initiative came at no cost to taxpayers.
They also said on Friday that the Department of Cultural Affairs will dedicate $10 million over the next four years to create new works of art to honor underrepresented communities — including a large-scale monument to indigenous people that may be housed in Central Park.
The Ford Foundation is also earmarking $250,000 to support further review of controversial artwork on city property.