Rays of hope
Boulders, rainbows mark N.Y.’s 1st LGBT memorial
The state’s first official monument to the LGBT community, honoring victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting, was unveiled in Hudson River Park in the West Village on Sunday.
“I hope this monument will serve as a symbol of our state’s belief in inclusion for generations to come,” Gov. Cuomo said before he marched in the Pride March in Midtown.
The monument, located between W. 12th St. and Bethune St., includes nine boulders placed in a circle. Six of the boulders are cut in half and connected with glass, which acts as a prism and makes rainbows — an icon of the gay rights movement.
“Being part of the LGBT community is unlike any other minority,” said Anthony Goicolea, who designed the display. “He or she figures it out, then they have to seek out their peers, their mentors and their own history.
“They have to seek out a like-minded, supportive community and build their own second family,” he added.
Growing up in Marietta, Ga., Goicolea said he struggled to come out to his friends and family.
“In my mind, if I was running, no one can catch up to me and no one can make fun of me,” he said.
The memorial was inspired by his love of running in nature, including past the exact spot of the memorial, he added.
“I wanted it to be very natural, I wanted it to feel wild,” he said. “I wanted it to be something you come across and it unveils itself to you as you approach it. I wanted it to be very green and open.”
A rampage shooter killed 49 people inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, on June 26, 2016. Cuomo later launched a LGBT Memorial Commission to come up with an artistic way to honor the victims of hate and intolerance.
“It couldn’t come at a better time to make this statement loud and proud when we have a country that is at such a point of disruption and turmoil,” Cuomo said. “This memorial is another point of reflection. Not a point that says how far have we come, but how much further we have to go.”
At least one passerby was impressed.
“I love the simplicity of the memorial. I love how it engages the viewer,” Daniel Peddle, 48, of Manhattan. “It pulls you in and entices you with all sorts of interesting things to look at in a nonaggressive way.” Others questioned the art. “Sir, can you please explain how granite boulders with paint memorializes the sous lost that Pulse Nightclub? I don’t see it,” tweeted Patricia Facquet.