Frank Rizzo Statue To Be Moved After Swell Of Controversy

PHILADELPHIA – On Friday, Nov. 3, Philadelphia officials announced the statue of former police commissioner and Mayor Frank Rizzo will be moved.

The announcement comes after months of controversy surrounding the statue, which opponent say represents a man who harmed Philadelphia with his policies.

"Earlier this year we initiated a call for ideas on the future of the Rizzo statue. We carefully reviewed and considered everyone’s viewpoints and we have come to the decision that the Rizzo statue will be moved to a different location," Michael DiBerardinis, Managing Director for the City, said in a statement.

The public was invited to submit their ideas to the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy.

A team of city officials reviewed close to 4,000 submissions received between Aug. 24 and Sept. 15.

"This decision comes at a time when we have begun the preliminary stages of planning to re-envision Paine Plaza as a new type of inviting and engaging public space," DiBerardinis said. "We are working to plan and create a public space more in line with neighboring Dilworth Plaza and the soon-to-be unveiled Love Park."

Next steps for the City will be conducting feasibility studies on potential new locations.

Once a new site has been determined, the City plans to submit a proposal to the Art Commission that simultaneously requests removal and relocation approval.

"We thank the citizens of Philadelphia for responding with such thoughtful ideas. The response was very helpful for us to identify a host of potential new locations," Kelly Lee, Chief Cultural Officer, said. "We plan to do our due diligence on these locations before announcing the new site, but the input helped shaped some of the options we’ll review. Our goal moving forward is to seamlessly relocate the statue to a new, more appropriate public location in the city."

Officials estimate that it will take at minimum six months to prepare a complete proposal to the Art Commission, but also make clear that additional time may be needed depending on the site evaluation process.

A timeline for renovations to Paine Plaza will be established during the City’s capital budget process, which begins in March.

In this Aug. 10, 2016 file photo, people walk by a statue of late Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo, who also served as the city's police commissioner, on Thomas Paine Plaza outside the Municipal Services Building in Philadelphia.

Image via Dake Kang/AP Photo