The courtyard of Public School 11 in Journal Square has been empty since February, when a 97-year-old statue of Peter Stuyvesant – the Dutch colonist who oversaw the settlement of New Amsterdam (now Manhattan) and founded the Village of Bergen in Jersey City in 1660 – was removed from its base.
Hudson County Community College and the Jersey City Board of Education removed it because they wanted it in a more prominent place, and they figured that since P.S. 11 is named after civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, a statue of King could grace the courtyard instead.
But they never received funds for a King statue, and now, Stuyvesant is sitting in storage, costing HCCC money.
This coming October, local residents and officials plan to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Village of Bergen, considered the oldest settlement in New Jersey. The statue’s removal outraged some of them, and they want to see it returned to not only mark the celebration but to continue standing as a reminder of Jersey City’s rich past.
City Councilwoman Nidia Lopez and other city officials are pushing for the figure’s return to the area.
“It’s a beautiful statue and it belongs in front of the school.” – Nidia Lopez
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In the meantime, the statue is kept at Burns Bros. Memorials on Tonnelle Avenue waiting to be set up again. Lopez would like to see it happen in time for the 350th anniversary celebration in fall.
“It’s a beautiful statue and it belongs in front of the school,” Lopez said.
Mayor Healy said last week that his administration has made it a “priority” to get the statue standing again before October.
Three-year discussion
The impetus for the removal dates back to December 2007, when officials from Hudson County Community College (HCCC) and the Hudson County Open Space Committee made a presentation to the Jersey City school board to request the statue be moved to the newly created “Culinary Arts Plaza” at the college. In the minutes of that meeting, the reason stated for the move was that the statue was “in an inaccessible site and [we] would like to move it to an accessible site as a historic highlight of the new [plaza].”
At a March 2008 school board meeting, the board approved the removal of the statue, owned by the city, as a “loan” to HCCC. The removal was approved on the condition that a statue of Martin Luther King would replace the Stuyvesant statue.
The Jersey City school district also voted to seek $50,000 from the Open Space Trust Fund for the commission of an MLK statue, but the money was never awarded, according to officials.
Roger Jones, spokesperson for HCCC, said the college has spent somewhere from $12,000-$15,000 on the removal, transportation, storage, insurance, and restoration work for the statue. However, the city has notified Burns Bros. not to do any restoration work without the direction of the city.
Also, Zakalak Restoration Arts, a historic restoration firm, in collaboration with the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy, has visited the statue to help the city come up with a price quote for placing the statue in a new location.
The Division of Cultural Affairs is currently working on creating a fund to bring back the statue by October.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.