NYC to consider removing statues of George Washington, create reparations task force amid budget cuts

As New York City cripples under monumental budget cuts due to a migrant crisis straining public resources, the city council is planning to consider a series of measures that would, among other things, remove statues of major historical figures like George Washington and create a reparations task force.  The items are included in New York City’s council agenda for Tuesday, September 19, 2023. The council’s Cultural Affairs Committee will hold a public hearing on a measure to remove works of art on city property that “depict a person who owned enslaved persons or directly benefited economically from slavery, or who participated in systemic crimes against indigenous peoples or other crimes against humanity.”  Peter Gerard Stuyvesant bronze statue in Stuyvesant Square in New York City. (Sergi Reboredo/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) This criteria would include figures like America’s first president George Washington, Dutch governor and New York settler Peter Stuyvesant, as well as Christopher Columbus – all of whom have statues throughout the city.  The statue of Christopher Columbus on June 12, 2020, at Columbus Circle in New York City. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images) If the Public Design Commission (PDC) determined not to remove the work of art,...