Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that the city will conduct a 90-day review of all symbols of hate on New York City property.
“The commemoration for Nazi collaborator Philippe Petain in the Canyon of Heroes will be one of the first we remove,” de Blasio said on Twitter.
The move follows the deadly attack in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday. Several cities and states around the country have responded by removing Confederate tributes.
In Brooklyn, St. John’s Episcopal Church removed a plaque on Wednesday honoring Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the busts of Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson be removed from CUNY’s Hall of Fame for Great Americans in the Bronx.
“There are many great Americans, many of them New Yorkers worthy of a spot in this great hall. These two confederates are not among them,” Cuomo said on Twitter.
The governor also sent a letter to Acting Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy. Cuomo is urging him to remove Confederate names from streets at the Fort Hamilton Army Base.
“Symbols of slavery and racism have no place in New York. In our state, we condemn the language and violence of white supremacy in no uncertain terms. Unlike President Trump, we stand together to say that there are not many sides to hatred and bigotry; they do not belong in our communities and must be denounced for what they are,” Cuomo wrote.
Governor Cuomo said renaming the streets will send a clear message that New York stands against intolerance and racism.
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