Last Sunday an eight-foot bronze statue of Joseph Smith was quietly installed in Old Slip Park, located in downtown Manhattan. Old Slip is significant to the LDS Church for several reasons: first, Joseph Smith visited the area in October 1832, pursuant to the command to Newel K. Whitney now found in Doctrine and Covenants 84:114; second, the spot was a departure point for members heading west; and third, the ship Brooklyn, led by Samuel Brannan, departed from the area in February 1846, carrying more than 200 church members on a long trip to California.

The placement of the statue has the support of the City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation and is part of the Temporary Public Outdoor Art Program. Sculpted by Dee Jay Bawden and entitled “The Frontier Prophet,” it will be dedicated tomorrow afternoon and will remain in place until next June.

Interestingly enough, several months ago the Tribeca Trib, a community newspaper, reported that Community Board 1 rejected the proposal to install the statue. There was more than a little debate involved.

Harold Reed, head of the board’s Arts and Entertainment Task Force, which had given an earlier okay to the statue, commented: “They’re not proselytizing and it’s temporary….We live in a free country….We can honor somebody else’s belief and it’s okay. To me it’s like free speech, first amendment, allowing people to be.” Another board member criticized the project, remarking of Joseph Smith, “The history of this gentleman, as far as I’m concerned, is not deserving of a statue in our city.” A third board member took a middle ground, observing: “There are people who hate Thomas Jefferson, who do not like George Washington, but they’re not out there tearing the statues down.” One board member went further, suggesting that a negative vote could make the board appear bigoted. He said: “I think that this is a major religion in the United States and it is not appropriate to take such a stand without educating yourself on it.” Another board member, noting that he was Jewish, responded that he wouldn’t approve a statue of Moses–or even Robert Moses, the famous New York City planner and builder.

The board turned down the proposal by a vote of 18-7.

Friday’s Deseret News provides some additional details. New York New York Stake stake president Brent Belnap says that many board members said Joseph Smith “was a fraud and this is a false religion.”

According to the News, however, Claudia Bushman, who spearheaded the project, and other individuals continued their efforts, approaching the Parks Department and working political connections to obtain approval of the project. The Mormon Historic Sites Foundation provided necessary funds.

Joseph Smith’s account of his visit to New York City can be read here.