Museum of Natural History To Remove Teddy Statue, Calls For Moses Statue To Be Removed As Well

Roosevelt Statue outside the Main Entrance of the American Museum of Natural History

A statue dedicated to native New Yorker and US President Theodore Roosevelt outside the American Museum of Natural History is slated for removal in the wake of nationwide protest against racism and police brutality, the museum announced on Sunday (June 21).

The statue, which is owned by the city, was unveiled in 1940 and sits on public park land outside the museum's Central Park West entrance. The memorial features Roosevelt on horseback with a Native American man and an African man by his side.

The museum, which is currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, said on its website that the statue has "long been controversial because of the hierarchical composition that places one figure on horseback and the others walking alongside, and many of us find its depictions of the Native American and African figures and their placement in the monument racist."

In a statement, Mayor Bill de Blasio supports the removal of the Roosevelt Statue saying that the Museum asked for its removal and that now it's "the right decision and the right time to remove this problematic statue."

In a statement to the New York Times, Roosevelt's great-grandson, Theodore Roosevelt IV, expressed approval of the decision to remove the monument saying that the composition of the Equestrian Statue does not "reflect Theodore Roosevelt's legacy. It is time to move the statue and move forward."

Roosevelt served as the 33rd Governor of New York before becoming the 26th President of the United States in 1901.

The Theodore Roosevelt statue is one of several statues dedicated to US Presidents that are being removed or considered for removal by the city. The statues of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, were both recently removed from City Hall and placed into storage.

Meanwhile, out on Long Island...

Robert Moses, "Master Builder. Some have called him "Master of Racism"

A group of protesters rallied Saturday (June 20) for the removal of a statue dedicated to "Master Builder," Robert Moses.

The statue, located in Babylon Village, is considered not fitting with today's climate due to his racist views during the mid-20th Century, which include segregation of Long Island.

In New York City, as head of various commissions and departments, Robert Moses was known for constructing many large-scaled highway projects through mainly minority neighborhoods throughout the Five Boroughs.

One of those is the Cross-Bronx Expressway, which dissect through the Bronx and lead to the urban decade of the borough in the late 20th Century.

NYC entered Phase 2 of Reopening

Two weeks after New York City businesses bagan opening during the First Phase of Reopening, the Big Apple is now enter Phase 2 of Reopening. Here are a list of businesses that are reopening during this phase.

• real estate
• offices
• in-store retail
• vehicle sales
• repair services
• cleaning services
• hair salons and barbershops
• outdoor and take-out food services
• commercial building management

Malls will remains close until Phase 4, while public transit will operated on a regular schedule. However, subway service will be suspended for cleaning and disinfecting during the overnight hours between 1am and 5am.

COVID-19 Outbreak affecting city life

As many of you might have known by now, COVID-19/coronavirus has cause disruptions around the world. New York City is an exception to this.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has imposed a one-mile (0.6 km) exclusion zone in the Westchester County town of New Rochelle after the lawyer there was tested positive with the virus.

In addition, the Governor has ordered a ban on all gathering of over 500 people across the state. This means many Broadway show has canceled performances, the NBA, NHL, and all other sporting events have either been canceled or postponed to a later date.

The New York City Half-Marathon, which was set to take place on Sunday, is canceled as a result of the ban. Also canceled is the St. Patrick's Day Parade for the first time ever. The parade was scheduled to take place on Tuesday.

Movie theaters are implementing seat separation and social distancing in order to slow the virus.

The Archdioceses of New York and Brooklyn have canceled Sunday Mass until further notice.

Public transit is the still operating, however, ridership is the down between 15 to 30-percent according to news reports. Amtrak has made changes to its rail service nationwide, include its Acela high-speed rail service on the Northeast Corridor Line.

Airlines have either suspended or cutback flights between the US and the European Union and Asia.

Back here in the city, public schools are in operation, however, parents have taken matters into their own hands by keeping their children home.

Charter schools and religious schools are closed and classes have been moved online.

The State University and the City University of New York, as well as many private colleges, have moved their classes online until further notice.

I, myself, is okay for now. I will try to keep you updated on this fluid situation as much as possible via this blog and on Twitter.