By Gus Saltonstall
The Firemen’s Memorial in Riverside Park, which holds great importance to the FDNY, was defaced recently by a vandal, police confirmed to West Side Rag on Tuesday.
Someone broke off the nose of one of the two women depicted in the monument at West 100th Street and Riverside Drive on the night of March 17 with an unknown object, before fleeing the scene, police said.
There has not been an arrest and the investigation remains ongoing, NYPD added.
The memorial, which was designed by H. Van Buren Magonigle and Attilio Piccirilli and erected in 1913, has become an important gathering place for members of the FDNY and their families, and is one of the locations across the city that hosts a large gathering on September 11 each year.
The two women on either side of the memorial are known as “Duty” and “Sacrifice,” and an inscription on a center plaque reads:
“To the men of the Fire Department / of the City of New York / who died at the call of duty / soldiers in a war that never ends / this memorial is dedicated / by the people of a grateful city / erected MCMXII.”
Upper West Sider Steve Wolf, who routinely walks by the monument, was the person who first discovered the damage.
“It was Saturday morning on the way to temple. I walk by that statue all the time,” Wolf told West Side Rag. “The female figure is sitting in a chair. She has her arm around a child and in her lap is a firefighter’s helmet. She is called Duty, and Saturday morning, she didn’t have a nose.”
Wolf ended up picking up what he could of the broken nose off the ground to hold onto for safekeeping.
James Long, the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information for the FDNY, reached out personally to West Side Rag when he heard that the Firemen’s Memorial was damaged.
“It is quite a significant place for firefighters and members of the FDNY to come together,” Long said. “It is a place of gathering out of respect for and great acknowledgement of those who have taken the oath and made the sacrifice.”
He said it is the site where members of Bronx firehouses gather each year on September 11, and, in October, there is also an annual memorial service for other fallen members of the FDNY there.
“There’s great significance to the monument. It was designed and built by community money; they did it on their own to show appreciation and acknowledgement to the fire service,” Long said. “We have a saying, it’s the never-ending war, the battle against fire, and we continue to have people come into the service and we continue to address the emergencies and those in need.”
“It is good to have that monument in place, and it is important to take the necessary steps to address any upgrade or maintenance so it’s there for future generations,” he concluded.
Long provided these comments before it was confirmed that a vandal had purposefully defaced the monument.
A spokesperson from the New York City Parks and Recreation Department said they were “deeply disappointed” about the defacement.
“We are deeply disappointed by this vandalism of the Firemen’s Memorial, which we know means so much to first responders across the city and to the local community,” the spokesperson told the Rag.
The Parks Department added that it is exploring options to repair the nose, and that in 2021 and 2022, with the help of the Riverside Conservancy, conducted an extensive masonry repointing of the Firemen’s Memorial monument, fountain, and stairs.
It is interesting to note that the model used to create the female sculptures of the Firemen’s Memorial was Audrey Mundson, who was known as “Miss Manhattan” and the greatest model of her day from around 1910 up until the first World War.
Munson modeled for statues throughout the city, including the one on top of the city’s Municipal Building downtown, at Broadway and West 106th Street in honor of Isidor and Ida Straus, and the granite maiden at the Brooklyn entrance to the Manhattan Bridge.
Munson eventually ended up out of work and attempted suicide before being confined to a mental institution for the next 75 years of her life, where she died in 1996 at the age of 104. Her story is examined in The New York Times 2022 article — “Overlooked No More: Audrey Munson, Forgotten but, Living On in Sculptures, Not Gone.”
Wolf, who originally found the defaced Firemen’s Memorial statue, has studied Munson’s work for years, and her inclusion was one element that drew him to the monument.
“Not only did I feel like somebody very dear to me [Munson] just got marred, but this memorial since 9/11 has become a communal grieving place for fire departments,” Wolf told the Rag. “So, it troubled me that not only were Munson and this lovely New York statue [damaged], but also the firemen were affected.”
“Getting that nose fixed should be first priority,” he added.
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This news makes me sick at heart. If you could see the fire fire fighters gathering, and sometimes hear the bagpipes at The Firemen’s Memorial, you would also feel heartache. I can’t hear a mention , read a reference, or see photos of the Tower without thinking of the brave firefighters running up stairs to their deaths as they perform their sacred duties. Every day our firefighters are called out to save lives and protect our homes. Bless them all.
Very sad but reflective of the political situation were are in. During uprisings and revolution people destroy statues and monuments. Study history.
During uprisings and revolutions people destroy images of the hated enemies and authorities. Who hates the FDNY? It’s incorrect to dignify this act of pure, mindless vandalism as a political statement.
The people who run around and deface monuments currently aren’t really that smart to be honest.
This memorial also served the general community near 100th and Riverside as a communal site of mourning right after 9/11, covered with handwritten cards, flowers and more.
How despicable. These malcontents need to find a better outlet for whatever the hell their problem is. I’m beyond caring about what their issue might be. You just don’t do this if you’re a decent human being.
I lived on this corner for 20 years, including on 9/11. Here is my tribute five years later.
https://youtu.be/IsVN1tLKcUQ?si=TMqbYSwf_szIfW8d
It’s difficult to find words to describe such a senseless act of destruction. I’m sure the ignorance that motivated it likely had nothing to do with the bravery of the firefighters that the memorial honors. I wonder who the parents are that raised such a person..
There is literally no information about who did this or why, and yet commenters are deciding it’s political. It could be a mentally ill person. It could be a drunk teenager. Why don’t we hold off on scary warnings until we know something?
Unchecked Mental illness or drunken behavior is also part of the political climate. If caught they should be disciplined. Part of living free in society includes responsibility and respect for others. If you can’t be responsible and show respect, you should be disciplined- regardless your reasons.
Of course. Never suggested that whoever did it shouldn’t be held responsible. Just saying tying it to “uprisings and revolution” seems a little premature.
is it possible her nose…just fell off?
” it was confirmed that a vandal had purposefully defaced the monument.”
Disgusting. Shameful. A reflection of the deterioration of the neighborhood and general decency. Enough is enough.
I lived in that block of West 100 St for 14 years. There was not breakage of any part of the monument during that time, but the was occasional graffiti, or bags of trash left around, etc. There are always a few people in any community that like to ruin things rather than build them. We should pity them AND discipline them if we can find them. Personally, I think it’s an over-reaction to see an incident like this as a sign of some societal breakdown unless/until it becomes part of a larger pattern.
BTW, for people who are unfamiliar with the monument, my favorite part is the large plaque in the floor that is dedicated too the horses who were injured or killed in the service of the Fire Department of NY before they had motor vehicles.
I might react with : “At long last, have you no decency?” . . . were it not for the disheartening fact that it would fall on the deaf ears of the ignoramus who so thoughtlessly defaced a cherished memorial.
If you go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art many of the ancient marble statues are damaged.
The most common area of damage is the face, particularly the nose. So this kind of destruction is not new. Let’s get the statue fixed and a camera installed with a discreet sign notifying potential vandals of such.