'He Is Not A Hero': 1,000+ Want William Floyd Statue Moved

MASTIC, NY — A Shirley woman has created a petition asking for the removal of a statue dedicated to William Floyd, stating that it stands for "subliminal racism," as Floyd was a slave owner.

The petition comes after days of protest in Mastic and Shirley after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis; Floyd died after a police officer pressed a knee to his neck for almost 9 minutes.

William Floyd was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a member of the Suffolk County Militia during the Revolutionary War, a delegate to the First Continental Congress and a member of the New York State Senate. He lived in Mastic Beach.

The petition, "Removal of The William Floyd Statue on the corner of William Floyd Parkway and Montauk Highway" was created by Desiree Magee, who sent it to the Town of Brookhaven.

So far, 1,857 have signed the petition, which has a goal of 2,500 signatures.

The debate has sparked arguments on both sides on social media.

"We the people of the Mastic, Shirley, Moriches community, hereby petition to 'remove, relocate, contextualize, or cover the monument of William Floyd,'" the petition reads. "William Floyd is a constant reminder to the oppression of the minorities in this community. The statue is a symbol of rebellion and subliminal racism.

"Although William Floyd was a New York senator and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, he is not a hero. William Floyd was a proud slave owner! Floyd is a major contributor to the division amongst our community. The statue was placed to honor Floyd for building this community but institutional racism must be removed in order to achieve our ultimate goal of unity."

Beth Wahl, president of the William Floyd Community Summit, said the group is a grassroots organization formed in 1998 that became incorporated in 2002. The group's beautification committee was, at the time, chaired by Pat Matthews, who "had this dream to have a statue of William Floyd," she said.

Wahl said Matthews had an article written in a local paper about her vision to honor Floyd, whose estate is in Mastic Beach. Floyd, she said, was one of only four signers of the Declaration of Independence from New York and the only one from Long Island.

About two years after the article, Wahl said, she got a call from artist Santo Matarazzo. "He had a heavy Italian accent," she said. "He asked if I could come to his house and he brought us into his garage — where he'd made a statue so large of William Floyd that he'd had to have the roof of his garage raised to accommodate it. He said, 'I want you to have this statue.'"

At the time, Walh said, the group didn't know where to site the statue, which had to be placed on municipal property. The statue stayed at the library for a few years until Suffolk County and Matthews worked out a plan to put the statue at its current location, at the intersection of William Floyd Parkway and Montauk Highway.

The plan for the property also included gardens along with the statue, which the William Floyd Community Summit had bronzed and moved.

The statue has been on display at its location since 2013. "It's the first thing when you drive in to our community and we're very proud of it," Wahl said.

Of the petition and Floyd's ownership of slaves, she said: "The fact is, slavery was horrible. But it was 200 years ago that this occurred. We can't go back and change what happened 200 years ago. What you can do is move forward and try to fix what's going on now."

Wahl, who is white and has two black grandchildren, said she wants a better world for them, "where they can feel equal and do whatever they want to do, and not be looked down upon as second-class citizens."

But, Wahl said, she does not believe moving a statue or changing the name of the William Floyd estate, the William Floyd Parkway or the William Floyd school district, as some have suggested, will change anything. "They are fixated on the wrong things," she said.

Slavery, she said, was a fact of life during Revolutionary War times. "It was the accepted practice — any land owner of any large land mass had slaves. I'm not saying it's right. It was wrong. But that was the norm during those days. And saying it's wrong now, 200 years later, won't change anything."

Floyd, she added, was a "very important man. We are proud our school district and the William Floyd Parkway are named after him. It's something we as a community are very happy about."

Wahl said she is happy to speak with those who want the statue moved. "But there is no discussion on moving it. As far as I'm concerned, it's staying where it is — and the majority of the community would agree with me on that. It's just a futile point. As far as I am concerned, that statue is never moving."