A nearly century-old statue of the Revolutionary War hero Gen. Philip Schuyler — one of Albany’s largest slave owners — was removed from outside city hall in the state capitol Saturday morning.
A moving crew took nearly three hours to haul the statue off its base and load it onto a trailer.
It’s now destined for an undisclosed storage facility until the city can decide what to do with it.
The removal cost about $40,000, according to NewsChannel 13 Albany.
The nine-foot depiction of Schuyler — who was a New York senator and the father-in-law of Alexander Hamilton — may also contain a time capsule with maps, coins, and other knick-knacks dating from its unveiling in 1925, the Albany Times Union reported.
Despite his prominence in American history, Schuyler came in for criticism after the death of George Floyd and the subsequent riots carried out around the country in 2020.
During his lifetime, he was one of the largest slaveowners in the city.
A moving crew took nearly three hours to haul the general away to his new home at a storage facility. WNYT
During his lifetime, Schuyler was one of the largest slaveowners in the city. Twitter/@papertopressAlbany Mayor Kathy Sheehan ordered Schuyler’s removal in June 2020 during the height of the unrest, but the project had languished for years pending the results of an engineering study.
The removal follows a similar trend around the state of iconic statues being removed to satisfy progressive demands.
In 2021 a 187-year-old statute of Thomas Jefferson was removed from City Hall.
The nine-foot depiction of Schuyler may also contain a time capsule with maps, coins, and other items dating from its unveiling in 1925, according to reports. WNYTA year later a towering equestrian likeness of Theodore Roosevelt was also hauled away from its longtime home at the Museum of Natural History.
