Pols hoping she stays even longer

POLS RALLIED Monday to make Wall Street’s “Fearless Girl” statue permanent, after Mayor de Blasio announced the sculpture’s stay would be extended through next February. “The ‘Fearless Girl’ inspires all of us to realize the power we have in ourselves, the power that women and young girls have everywhere,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney said outside City Hall. “She was created to bring attention to the courage and unrealized power of women in so many fields — and she has clearly struck a nerve. She has become an overnight sensation.” The artwork — depicting a young girl with her hands on her hips staring down the iconic “Charging Bull” — will stay up through February 2018 thanks to a permit issued through the Department of Transportation art program, as the Daily News first reported. The pols welcomed that decision, but said they don’t want the girl removed at the end of the extension. “The importance of empowering women is not temporary, and it’s not something that can last for 11 months. It’s something that needs to be made permanent,” said Public Advocate Letitia James, who noted that she got 51,000 signatures on her petition to keep the statue. Maloney (D-N.Y.) said she is asking the New York Stock Exchange to have the Fearless Girl ring the opening bell — or the next best thing for an inanimate statue: A little girl dressed as the statue, who would be joined by a group of female leaders. The artwork has drawn horde s of fans, but it also has its critics. Some have said a grown woman, instead of a little girl, would have sent a stronger feminist message. But artist Kristen Visbal said she wanted to depict a girl in order to represent the future. “She is speaking to the future, and that’s what we wanted to do,” she said. “She’s strong, but not belligerent. She’s proud, but not confrontational.” Others have said the statue is just a publicity ploy by State Street Global Advisors, which has only three women on its own 11-member board. The artist behind the “Charging Bull” statue has also blasted its new rival. Maloney said she wasn’t concerned the work was being used by the firm to whitewash its record. “I’m just thrilled that a major company has come up and stood up for more representation of women on boards. I think it’s an importa nt public policy goal,” she said.