New York City Mayor de Blasio’s wife has rejected the results of a public vote calling for a statue of Mother Cabrini (pictured), a Catholic saint, and instead opted to honor other “women,” including two drag queens.
Chirlane McCray, the mayor’s wife, launched a “She Built NYC” program and invited the public to vote on the names of women they want the city to recognize with a statue. Mother Cabrini got more votes than any other woman (219), yet McCray’s panel rejected the public’s choice.
Without explanation, McCray decided on a group of people that were nowhere near the top choices picked by New Yorkers, including the two drag queens who founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR).
The “She Built NYC” project began last summer as an attempt by McCray to balance the male-female mix of statues of eminent New Yorkers. When McCray asked for the public’s input, she received an avalanche of more than 1,800 suggestions, with some 320 women nominated.
McCray and former Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen basically ignored the results of the public consultation and chose the seven women they wanted to honor, none of whom was among the top seven women picked in the poll. – READ MORE