As the city undergoes a review of potentially offensive monuments throughout the five boroughs, a controversial spot in Kew Gardens has received a new purpose.
Borough President Melinda Katz and other elected officials cut the ribbon on the newly-dedicated Women's Plaza in Queens Tuesday. It now has new masonry, benches and plants.
The monument on Queens Boulevard and Union Turnpike used to be home to a statue called the "Triumph of Civic Virtue." It depicted a man standing over two women symbolizing corruption and vice.
“It really represented old-fashioned, old-fashioned thoughts about women,” said Claire Shulman, a former Queens Borough President.
“Little kids are going to walk by and say 'Mom, Dad, why is this dedicated to women?' And they will be told of the greatness of the women that came from Queens,” added current Queens Borough President Melinda Katz.
Despite objection from local lawmakers and residents a few years ago, the Triumph of Civic Virtue monument was moved to Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn in 2014.