She Built NYC monument program delays

At a glance

Based on all-caps captions that may contain errors; names, numbers and bill numbers may be misheard.

What: the She Built NYC program to place public monuments honoring women in each borough, announced in 2018. At the 2026-10-19 cultural plan hearing, members and a witness asked why progress has stalled and where one monument, honoring Elizabeth Jennings (surname garbled in the captions), should stand.
Where it stands: Council Member Marte (whose question was read by Deputy Speaker Williams) noted the planned site is outside Grand Central although Jennings' 1854 streetcar protest took place in lower Manhattan; Community Board 1 passed a resolution asking for a lower Manhattan site. DCLA said its public art team is looking at new lower Manhattan locations and would talk with the Council Member, including about the Chatham Square redesign.
Next: DCLA to follow up with Council Member Marte and with a member of the public who says records requests have produced no update.

A witness who wrote a book on Jennings said no progress has been made on the four monument designs after eight years, that a records request and a court filing yielded no answer, and that a DCLA contact said there was nothing to report. A member (apparently the chair) said an artist has been selected for a Billie Holiday monument in her district and that DCLA should have given a fuller update.
Council Member Maloney joined the hearing around this point; no question from her is recorded.

About 6 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-19 - Committee hearing	6

2026-10-19 - Committee hearing - Raised by Council Member Marte (read by the chair) and in public testimony.