Mayor Bill de Blasio reined in his plans to move the famed Charging Bull statue from its longtime place of honor on Broadway to the New York Stock Exchange after its creator protested the relocation.
The city’s Department of Transportation withdrew its application from the Public Design Commission — which must approve the move — after the sculptor, Arturo Di Modica, panned the proposal.
“We are moving the bull. Full stop,” said City Hall spokeswoman Jane Meyer, who insisted Di Modica’s opposition wasn’t a factor. “This has nothing to do with the opinions of an artist and has everything to do about the safety of New Yorkers.”
She denied that Di Modica’s opposition had anything to do with the reversal, even though he said the bull couldn’t be moved to an area by the stock exchange because he controlled the copyright.
“Charging Bull cannot be used for any commercial purpose without my formal permission,” Di Modica said. “NYSE is a company and placing the Charging Bull there will void my copyright and trademark turning Charging Bull into the New York Exchange Bull.”
“I feel very disappointed about how my sculpture has been treated with nothing but contempt,” the sculptor added.
Arthur Piccolo, chair of the Bowling Green Association, which is backing the bull’s creator, applauded the reversal.
“Praise the Lord! Wow!” Piccolo told The Post Wednesday.
A mayoral staffer said in an email last week that the bull would be relocated to the stock exchange to protect it from vehicular attack. In 2017, a terrorist drove a truck along a Lower Manhattan bike path, killing eight people.
But Piccolo insists it’s safe on Broadway.