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| (Photo courtesy W.H.A.P.) |
Your correspondent first reported on the missing statue in August. Just goes to show, when Be the BQE speaks, Bloomberg listens. Or it was due to be reinstalled anyway. Either way, it's worth a visit, just make sure you go to the real Winfield Plaza at Laurel Hill Blvd. and 65th place (not the Winfield Plaza on 69th St. listed on the Parks Department site). When you go, pay attention to the inscription on the shield, a reminder that this is indeed a Winfield war memorial.
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| Pretty yes, but dangerous |
The statue has been damaged at least twice by drivers coming off the BQE at the 65th Place exit and not making the turn (shades of the tram in the Hrabal story). I took the photo at right on Sunday looking out from the plaza at traffic exiting the BQE--in other words, what Vicky sees. So fellow BQE'stas, a word of advice: Be respectful, don't depedestal!
Though we appreciate your calling attention to this significant commemorative monument in your community, the timing of its restoration was not precipitated by your blog postings, as we only learned of them after completing the project. An earlier posting erroneously credited Michelle Langlie, an architectural preservationist with our Capital unit, as managing the project. This project received no capital allocations of funding in the decade following the accident that caused damage to the monument. Last fall we decided to conduct the repairs through our in-house Citywide Monuments Conservation Program, a public-private initiative that I founded in 1997 and direct. The work was principally carried out by one of our two conservators, John Saunders, who conducted extensive repairs to the bronze, in particular the supporting bronze base, and also carved two granite "dutchman" replacements for the front corners of the pedestal. Most of this work was conducted at our shop over last winter, though the final touches, including recoating the sculpture, as well as its reinstallation, were timed to coincide with this year's Veterans Day. In an effort to improve out documentation, I recently met with the grandson of the sculptor James Novelli, who shared with me family photos showing Novelli working on the sculpture at his studio, as well as two images of the monument at its original location in a center median at Queens Boulevard and Fisk. Should you wish to learn more about our monuments and programs, I recommend visiting our website, www.nyc.gov/parks and consulting the Permanent Art and Monuments Catalogue, as well as the park history features (especially the one on War Memorials). --Jonathan Kuhn, Director, Art & Antiquities, New York City Parks & Recreation (212) 360-3410
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