A new statue of the late United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is coming to Downtown Brooklyn’s City Point development next year. The memorial to the Brooklyn-born legal eagle will be permanently installed outside the mall and condo complex’s Albee Square entrance on March 15, according to one of the building’s managers.
“From the people who work here, to the diverse shoppers and shopping at City Point, everyone feels welcome, equal and respected. We are honored to have this great statue grace our property, and to bring Justice Ginsburg’s ‘pathmarking’ spirit back to Brooklyn to inspire us for generations,” said Acadia Realty’s executive vice president Chris Conlon in a release Tuesday.
The date next spring would have been Justice Ginsburg’s 88th birthday and is in the middle of Women’s History Month, and Borough President Eric Adams — whose office pushed for renaming the nearby Municipal Building on Joralemon Street after the highest-ranking judge — said he will declare the day Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Day in the borough.
“No one can dispute the towering achievements of this judicial giant and the value of adding her likeness to the landscape of our city,” Adams said in a statement on Oct. 13. “We are pleased to champion these tributes to her commitment to justice, Brooklyn birthright, and enduring legacy.”
The 6-foot bronze statue was designed last year by international husband-and-wife artist duo Gillie and Marc as part of their 2019 installation “Statues for Equality” which set up 10 memorials in Manhattan of notable women like Oprah Winfrey, P!nk, and Nicole Kidman.
The artists hope that the sculpture will be an inspiring commemoration to Justice Ginsburg’s trailblazing achievements.
“With the two steps on its large base representing the Supreme Court and the climb she made to get there, the work is designed to provide the public with an opportunity to stand at her side, and gain inspiration from her journey fighting for equal rights,” said Gillie and Marc in a joint statement.
At the time of the artists’ last exhibit on the distant isle of Manhattan, City Point partnered with Gillie and Marc to hang portraits of those same notable women inside their shopping center. In wake of Ginsburg’s passing, the managers of the Downtown Brooklyn shopping complex wanted to bring the newest effigy to her native borough, according to a spokeswoman for the development.
The late justice was born in Brooklyn in 1933 and grew up in Midwood. She died on Sept. 18 at the age of 87.
The planned statue in the heart of America’s Downtown might not be the only one in the borough as Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last month he plans to install one at Brooklyn Bridge Park.
This story first appeared on our sister publication brooklynpaper.com.
