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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2019
Bensonhurst Catholics furious over statue snub
BY ROSE ADAMS
She’s no saint!
Bensonhurst Catholics
slammed First Lady Chirlane
McCray for snubbing
the saintly winner of a supposedly
democratic election
to determine the subject of
a statue-building campaign
honoring the trailblazing
women of New York City
history
“It makes no sense,”
said Rosalie Grazaino, who
has attended Saint Frances
Cabrini Church in Bensonhurst
for 50 years. “What
happened to democracy?”
Congregates of the Bay
11th Street church near 86th
street pooled their votes to
nominate the house of worship’s
beatifi c patron —
known for her work with
New York’s immigrants
in the late 19th century —
and the worshippers came
to dominate the poorly attended
polls with a whopping
219 votes.
But St. Cabrini’s supporters
claim Comrade McCray
spit in the face of democracy
and threw their votes
in trash when she chose
seven different women to
commemorate with statues
across the city.
“It feels like we’re living
in Communist China,” said
Ursula Agosta, 72, a Bensonhurst
resident and a parishioner
at the Bay 11th Street
church near 86th street.
McCray launched the She
Built NYC public initiative
in June 2018 to address the
city’s lack of statues honoring
great women, and asked
the public to nominate their
favorites. Some of the top
votes went to Saint Frances
Cabrini, activist Jane Jacobs,
and humanitarian Lillian
Wald — all of whom received
more votes than most
of McCray’s picks.
Instead, Mayor de Blasio’s
wife and Deputy Mayor
Alicia Glen chose to commemorate
jazz singer Billie
RAISING HELL: Ursula Agosta (left) and Rosalie Graziano (right) are furious that First Lady Chirlane McCray ignored the winner of the She Built NYC initiative, Mother Cabrini.
Photo by Marcus Stevens
Holiday, civil rights advocate
Elizabeth Jennings
Graham, doctor Helen Rodriguez
Trias, and LGBTQ
activist, Sylvia Rivera —
none of whom were among
the top seventeen women
nominated.
The other three picks
— Congresswoman Shirley
Chisholm, lighthouse
keeper Katherine Walker,
and transgender activist
Marsha P. Johnson — did
make the top seven spots,
although none took fi rst or
second place.
The winners announcement
caused a ruckus at the
Bensonhurst church, where
parishioners had mobilized
friends and neighbors to cast
votes for their patron saint,
known as Mother Cabrini,
after their priest, Reverend
Guy Sbordone, urged the
congregation to vote for her.
And Councilman Justin
Brannan (D–Bensonhurst)
penned an letter politely
bashing the city on Aug. 16
for ignoring the open call’s
results.
“I am delighted with
the individuals who were
selected... they are all personal
heroes of mine,” he
wrote. “However, the seemingly
undemocratic process
for arriving at these choices
leaves me quite dismayed,
as I feel the will of my people
was denied.” The fi rst lady
has not yet responded to the
letter, Brannan claimed on
Aug. 29.
Even the panelists Mc-
Cray chose to evaluate the
public’s picks expressed
frustration at the fi rst lady’s
dictatorial selection process,
according to an art news
website Hyperallergic .
“The whole thing was a
charade,” Harriet Senie, an
art historian on the panel,
told Hyperallergic.
A spokesman at She
Built NYC clarifi ed that the
seven statues are the fi rst of
many that the organization
hopes to build, and claimed
that the nominations were
strictly advisory. The committee
prioritized selecting
a racially diverse group:
only one of the seven statues,
was white.
However, while the
spokesman claimed that the
committee would continue
considering Mother Cabrini,
he implied that a statue may
not be in the cards, saying
the saint is wealthy with
tributes.
“We appreciate the passion
and enthusiasm for
honoring Mother Cabrini’s
remarkable life and work,
and we’re proud that New
York City is home to a shrine
honoring her, along with a
street and parkland named
in her honor,” he said.
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