These adorable UWS horses have officially returned to the neighborhood
Whether you reside on the Upper West Side or not, you are probably familiar with the Nivola Horses that have been living in the public plaza between two New York City Housing Authority buildings for years.
Just in case you need a refresher: the 18 adorable little horse sculptures were created by Italian artist Constantino Nivola for NYCHA's Stephen Wise Towers at 117 West 90th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues back in 1964.
Since then, the polychrome cast stone pieces have gone through a lot: they've been vandalized, broken, disfigured and simply sat unrepaired for years until the spring of 2021 when, according to West Side Rag, a water main break in the plaza convinced officials to finally remove them completely "for fear they would be damaged further."
When a construction crew actually removed the figures from the area without giving anyone any notice, both New Yorkers and non-resident art experts started complaining about the way the works have always been treated.
"NYCHA quickly promised the horses would be restored and put back in place before the end of the year," reports West Side Rag.
Fast forward a few years and the statues are not only back, but fully restored.
Lest you think the effort to have been a quick and easy one, think again.
West Side Rag reports that things started to get moving back in 2020, a full year before the horses were removed from their home.
Back then, NYCHA transferred the ownership of the Wise Towers to PACT-Renaissance Collaborative, where one Amy Stokes worked. Stokes once worked for NYCHA and also has a background in art history, making her the ideal candidate to actually save the pieces.
Stokes reached out to experts about proper restoration measures and even traveled to Europe to do everything right.
Whether the horses will undergo mistreatment again (hopefully not), that's yet to be seen. In the meantime, make sure to wave hello while you walk by.
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