Controversial NYC Jefferson Statue Could Have New Home

NEW YORK CITY — Thomas Jefferson soon could be banished from City Hall.

A plan to move the controversial 1833 statue to the New-York Historical Society will be discussed by Public Design Commission board members on Nov. 15, according to new documents.

The long-term loan would first put the statue in the society's lobby for six months before moving it to a reading room — a far cry from its current home in the heart of New York City's government.

But that's precisely why many Council members pushed to move the statue. Jefferson may have authored the Declaration of Independence, but as a slaveholder he failed to heed his own words that "all men are created equal," opponents said.

"This was a slaveholder who owned over 600 human beings," said Council Member Adrienne Adams.

Adams spoke those words during an October design commission hearing over the Jefferson statue's fate.

Even before that two-hour hearing unfolded, the proposal to remove the Jefferson statue from City Hall sparked controversy. Mayor Bill de Blasio found himself on the defensive after the commission, which he appointed, made clear they'd move forward on a plan.

"I name people for sure, but they then exercise their judgment," he said.

And commission members did indeed "exercise their judgment," albeit to a point — they approved the removal but held off making a decision as to where.

The New-York Historical Society on the Upper West Side was floated as a potential home — and it appears design commission members are poised to send it there.

The meeting to discuss the statue will be Nov. 15 at 10:20 a.m. People can watch here.