Civic Virtue in Manhattan and Queens
The once-banished Civic Virtue statue that now stands deteriorating in Queens may be banished again, but this time into the more thoughtful arms of Green-Wood Cemetery. The statue originally stood outside of City Hall, but was relocated to Kew Gardens, Queens after Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia complained that it kept mooning him. It has been there since 1941, where it has slowly crumbled. Most recently, Rep. Anthony Weiner said he wanted to sell it on Craigslist.
Now the Green-Wood folks have stepped in, and according to the Daily News, they'd be happy to take the over 100-year-old statue and raise funds for its restoration. Cemetery president Richard Moylan told the paper, "We could not stand by idle and see a major work by one of America's greatest sculptors be allowed to turn to dust." (The sculpture, Frederick MacMonnies even has several family members interred at Green-Wood.
Some Community Board 9 members in Queens would rather it stay put and be restored, noting it would be embarrassing for Brooklyn to fix up what they have neglected. The supporters lobbying for the city-owned statue to stay have been unsuccessful in their efforts thus far, however.
