Civic leaders and activists are reviving an effort to preserve a marble sculpture that has been both praised for its beauty and condemned for what some say is its troubling imagery.
Mary Ann Carey, district manager of Community Board 9, has been leading the charge to get funding to repair the "Triumph of Civic Virtue" in Kew Gardens near Queens Borough Hall.
So far, her pleas - including testimony at a city budget hearing this spring - have had no effect.
"It's a sin to see this marble work of art deteriorating," Carey said of the statue by renowned 19th century American sculptor Frederick MacMonnies.
"If this was in Italy, they would have it in a museum. Eventually, it's just going to fall into a pile of salt," she said.
Carey originally launched the campaign in 2006 after noticing cracks in the statue's pedestal and erosion of its marble. She and other supporters - including the Fine Arts Federation and the city Parks Department - sent letters to the mayor and the City Council.
The sculpture sits on land owned by the Parks Department, but Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski said the agency does not have adequate funds to fix it.
"Triumph of Civic Virtue" has been controversial since its unveiling in 1922, which sparked a protest by feminists. Its symbolic tale of virtue overcoming vice is represented by a muscular nude male, triumphantly trampling two female sirens.
In 1941, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia - reportedly tired of being mooned by the nude figure - had the sculpture moved from City Hall Park to its current site at the corner of Union Turnpike and Queens Blvd.
Preservationists asked Queens Borough President Helen Marshall to ante up funds for the statue's restoration, which will cost an estimated $2 million. But Marshall does not consider it a top priority, said her chief of staff, Alexandra Rosa.
Rosa noted that spending money to repair "Triumph of Civic Virtue" would reduce funding that could be used to fix streets and schools and for other essential services.
The statue's misogynistic imagery is also troubling, she said.
"The fact that a strong man is standing tall on women below him ... just sends the wrong message to both men and women," Rosa said.
Tomas Rossant, president of the Fine Arts Federation, said he agrees with some of the criticism, but he also said the statue is an important landmark.
"It is a piece of the city's history," he said. "It should not be allowed to evaporate and disappear."
Richard Iritano, who grew up in Kew Gardens and ran for City Council in 2003, said the statue wouldn't be getting the cold shoulder if it were in Manhattan.
"It adds beauty to the neighborhood," he said.
