Planning board rules the statues can stay

Bill San Antonio

The Village of Old Westbury’s planning board unanimously approved a proposal on Monday to maintain three large statues on the historic property owned by real estate mogul Aby Rosen on the condition he shields the artwork from public view.

Planning board chairman Michael Wolf said the decision to approve the application resulted from a site visit village officials made to the 5.5-acre residence – the former estate of A. Conger Goodyear – and a compromise reached with neighbors who initially complained that the statues violated a conservation easement on the property.

As part of his agreement with the village, Rosen plans to move Damien Hirst’s “The Virgin Mother” – a 33-foot high statue depicting a naked pregnant woman split in half, exposing her skull, muscle tissue and part of a fetus – so that the anatomically-revealing part of the sculpture faces away from neighbors. 

He has also agreed to move the statue an additional 40 feet away from the house and plant several large trees and bushes to further screen the statue from public view.

“It would not be completely invisible, but it would be screened to the extent that anyone walking past the property would not be able to see it,” said Peter McKinnon, Rosen’s attorney.

The board also approved the maintenance of the 2008 Tom Sachs sculpture “Wind-Up Hello Kitty” and the 1996 Keith Haring sculpture “Untitled: Figure Balancing on Dog,” though officials said “The Virgin Mother” had received the most complaints from residents and was considered the most pressing aspect of Rosen’s application.

The approval, Wolf said, is also contingent on a second site visit this winter, after leaves have fallen from trees, to determine whether additional plantings would be necessary.

Monday’s hearing was the continuation of a June 2 presentation during which representatives for Rosen lobbied the board in favor of the “avant garde” nature of the statues and that their presence on the property would have appealed to Goodyear, the first president of the Museum of Modern Art.

The proposal also prompted the board to introduce a local law to define statues as accessory structures within Old Westbury’s village code, capping their maximum height at 25 feet.

Old Westbury Mayor Fred Carillo said Monday that restrictive covenants would be written to permit Rosen to keep the statues despite the changes in the law. 

The village’s board of trustees will continue a public hearing on the law during its July 21 meeting.   

Share this Article