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On Sunday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that New York will finally be getting its first monument to the LGBTQ community. The details on the project were released on the same day as NYC's 2017 Pride March and almost exactly a year after Cuomo established the LGBT Memorial Commission in the wake of the 2016 attack at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando that left 49 people dead.
The monument will be placed in Hudson River Park along the western edge of Greenwich Village. New York–based artist Anthony Goicolea designed the piece, which consists of nine boulders, some of which contain strips of borosilicate glass that will refract light to create rainbows on the surrounding lawn.
"This stunning design complements the landscape and communicates a timeless message of inclusion, and this monument will serve as an enduring symbol of the role New Yorkers play in building a fairer, more just world," Governor Cuomo said in a statement. "From Stonewall to marriage equality, New York has always been a beacon for justice and we will never waiver in our commitment to the LGBT community and to creating a more just and inclusive society. This new monument will stand up for those values for generations to come."
Goicolea, a mixed-media artist currently based in Brooklyn, received an MFA from the Pratt Institute of Art in 1996. Since then, his work has been featured throughout the world and in notable local museums like the Whitney, Guggenheim and MoMA. The new monument is arguably his highest profile piece to date and is poised to become one of the more stunning permanent public art installations in the entire city.
Cuomo's office has not yet released a projected completion date for the monument. When it does get installed, you can expect to see rainbows every single day in Greenwich Village—which is something we can all get behind.