Controversial Thomas Jefferson Statue Might Be Coming To The UWS

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The Upper West Side might be getting a 187-year-old Thomas Jefferson statue that has recently caused controversy from its spot outside the City Council chamber.

On Monday, the Design Commission will discuss and vote on the long-term loan of the statue of the United States' third president that has stood outside the City Council since 1834 to the New-York Historical Society on the Upper West Side at 170 Central Park West.

It is not clear from the meeting's agenda where the statue would go exactly at the UWS museum.

ILoveTheUpperWestSide was the first publication to report on the possible incoming Jefferson statue.

On Wednesday, the City Council's Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus released a statement in support of removing the statue from in front of its chamber — calling the relocation — "years in the making."

"This history includes acknowledging the fact that this Founding Father held dominion over 600 African slaves, and likened the notion of their freedom from captivity to, "Abandoning children," the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus wrote in its statement.

"This Administration owes it to the more than five million New Yorkers of color as our members — past, present and future - represent to resolve that the individuals memorialized within the confines of our People's House to be reflective not only of the best traditions of our city's history and its diversity but unquestionable character," the Caucus added.

You can read the full statement here.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and four other Council members penned a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio shortly after the police killing of George Floyd in the summer of 2020 in support of the Jefferson statue removal.

The statue was created by Pierre-Jean David and was donated to the city in 1834 by the Navy commander Uriah Phillips Levy.