Courtesy of
The New York Post
FDNY boss Nicholas Scoppetta will meet today with the man who commissioned a controversial statue, FDNY officials said yesterday, as the flap over the possible tribute raged on.
Mayor Bloomberg said he told Commissioner Scoppetta to look into the controversy over a proposal to alter the races of two of the three firefighters in a statue emulating a famous photo of a flag-raising at Ground Zero.
"It's unfortunate that we're in the situation that we are," Bloomberg said at his press conference.
Scoppetta will meet today with developer Bruce Ratner, who owns the MetroTech Center building in Brooklyn that houses FDNY headquarters and who commissioned the statue.
Instead of depicting the three firefighters as white men - matching the photo taken by photographer Thomas Franklin of The Record of Hackensack, N.J. - plans call for the bronze to show one black, one Hispanic and one white firefighter.
There's been criticism of the plan among firefighters, who've said the historic moment should be reproduced the way it happened.
Bill Kelly, a lawyer representing the firefighters in the photo, as well as The Record, said he's sent a letter to Ratner and FDNY brass asking them to honor the copyright photo.
Kelly said he hasn't heard back from either party - and that if he doesn't get a response by tomorrow, he may take legal action to block the statue.
"We have no intention of backing down," he said.
By the end of the day yesterday, it seemed like the plans to change the races of the firefighters might be scuttled.
FDNY spokesman Frank Gribbon said Scoppetta is "very concerned how the firefighters feel about this, as is Mr. Ratner. We're all in agreement that whatever is created and permanently placed here, it be respected by everyone and be something we can all be proud of."
A Ratner spokeswoman said he would go along with whatever the FDNY decided to do.
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