A monument of former New York Rep. Shirley Chisholm will join a short list of public statues across the city that honor historical women, officials announced Friday.
The new statue will be placed at the Parkside Avenue entrance of Prospect Park, the city said. It will be the first commissioned by She Built NYC, which seeks to “correct a glaring inequity in our public spaces,” First Lady Chirlane McCray said at the announcement.
“In a city filled with literally hundreds of statues and spaces memorializing men of European decent, there are only a handful of women honored,” she said. “I am thrilled to announce that New York City’s newest monument will honor a personal heroine of mine and so many others.”
Chisholm, a Brooklyn native who became the first black congresswoman, was selected by She Built NYC after more than 2,000 nominations.
Current statues depicting real women in the city include Joan of Arc in Riverside Park, Golda Meir on Broadway and 39th Street, Gertrude Stein in Bryant Park, Eleanor Roosevelt in Riverside Park and Harriet Tubman on St. Nicholas Avenue and West 122nd Street.
The statue of Chisholm is expected to be completed in 2020, the city said. An artist will be announced in 2019.
Another new statue, of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, will be unveiled in 2020 and will be the first depicting real women in Central Park. The park currently has sculptures of men and fictional women.
