City Hall

November 21, 2022

NYC landmarks were lit blue, pink, and white in honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance

Landmarks across New York were lit blue, pink, and white on Sunday in honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance. The day honors transgender individuals who have lost their life due to anti-transgender violence. The tribute came just one day after a mass shooting at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado left five people dead.
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October 19, 2021

Thomas Jefferson statue will be removed from NYC Council chambers but new location undecided

A 7-foot-tall statue of Thomas Jefferson will be removed from the New York City Council's legislative chambers after residing there for nearly 100 years. The city's Public Design Commission voted on Monday to take down the statue from the chambers but did not decide where it should be relocated. Calls to remove the statue of Jefferson, who owned more than 600 slaves, first came about two decades ago but intensified in recent years as more attention was paid to memorials and monuments honoring racists and racist symbols.
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April 10, 2020

See NYC landmarks turn blue in honor of essential workers

To show support for New York City's essential workers on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic, a number of buildings turned blue Thursday night. Madison Square Garden, One World Trade Center's spire, Beacon Theatre, Pier 17, Hudson Yards' Vessel, and more join more than 100 landmarks across the country as part of the #LightItBlue campaign. The nationwide lighting will occur weekly every Thursday.
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December 24, 2019

A look back at the City Hall Christmas tree lighting, a bygone NYC tradition

Image of the first Christmas tree in City Hall park in 1913; via Library of Congress In 1912, the nation's first public Christmas tree went up in Madison Square Park and sparked a new trend that would soon spread to parks across the city and beyond. The following year, acting Mayor Ardolph Kline initiated a similar tradition when he asked a young boy to help him light a Christmas tree in City Hall Park. By 1934, tree lighting celebrations became a citywide effort, with the Parks Department putting up 14 fifty-foot Norway Spruce trees throughout the city. Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia dedicated the trees from City Hall Park and broadcasted the ceremony to sites across the city.
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