A statue of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, is to be removed from New York City Hall.
The decision was made by the New York City Public Design Commission, where they voted unanimously on Monday for the statue to be moved to a different location by the end of the year.
The statue is 188-years old and about seven feet tall and efforts for it to be removed reignited due to protests for racial justice throughout the United States last year. The statue had been in the New York city council chamber since 1915. It was gifted to the city in the 1830s by Uriah Philips Levy, who is known to be the first Jewish Commodore of the US Navy, according to NBC New York.
The statue was expected to be loaned to the New York Historical Society by the end of this year for educational purposes, but where the statue will be moved still remains ambiguous, ABC7 reported.
Removing the statue has been shown to be a controversial subject, as candidates for the New York City mayoral race Curtis Sliwa and Eric Adams both have presented their thoughts.
Republican candidate Silwa asked if "we suddenly wipe out the images, the markings, the names of all those great patriots because they were slaveholders and slaveholding was quite common at that time?" Whereas Democratic candidate Adams said that "there are a number of appropriate figures to honor in our seat of government who are more directly meaningful to our people and are more reflective of our city's history than Thomas Jefferson."
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio described Jefferson as a "complex" figure and said that he understands why this "profoundly bothers people and why they find it's something that can't be ignored."
The City Council's Black, Latino, and Asian caucuses have released statements on the statue, finding it "inappropriate."