New York State is moving forward with plans to establish a new Holocaust memorial at the Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza in Albany, , Governor Kathy Hochul announced. The legislation, signed into law, aims to educate the public about the Holocaust and serve as a stark reminder of the dangers of antisemitism, racism, and all forms of intolerance, particularly as antisemitic incidents rise both within New York, and nationally.
The move comes as New York grapples with a renewed focus on Holocaust remembrance and education. While the state now commits to a prominent memorial in its capital city, the history of Holocaust commemoration in New York City itself reveals a complex and, at times, stalled narrative. A plaque in Riverside Park, Manhattan, erected in , originally intended as the site for a large-scale monument, stands as a testament to unrealized ambitions.
That initial plan, conceived in the immediate aftermath of World War II, envisioned a 50-foot-high, 50-foot-diameter sculpture designed by sculptor Jo Davidson. The design, featuring a “muscular Jewish fighter defiantly towering above a rabbi with his arms outstretched over the fallen,” ultimately never materialized. Over the following decades, seven other design proposals were submitted, but the project was abandoned by the . Explanations for the failure to build a substantial monument have varied, with some attributing it to concerns that the designs were “too ugly, too depressing or too distracting for drivers on the West Side Highway,” according to a New York Times article.
However, the reasons behind the stalled Riverside Park project remain a subject of debate. The plaque, despite the lack of a larger monument, has taken on significance in its own right, becoming the site of an annual memorial. The persistence of this smaller marker underscores a continuing need for visible and accessible remembrance.
Elsewhere in New York City, other memorials have emerged. Holocaust Memorial Park in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, established in with the support of then-Mayor Ed Koch, and officially dedicated in by then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, serves as an outdoor museum. The park’s centerpiece is a 14 1/2-foot tower sculpture of granite and exposed steel, topped with a bronze “Eternal Flame” and the inscription “Remember.” Granite markers within the park record names, places, and moments from the Holocaust’s history.
More recently, of saw Mayor Eric Adams and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announce the “Queens Holocaust Memorial,” a new public site intended to honor the six million Jewish people murdered during the Holocaust, as well as the survivors who rebuilt their lives in New York City. This initiative, alongside the new state memorial in Albany, signals a renewed commitment to Holocaust remembrance across the state.
The Albany memorial will be overseen by the New York State Office of General Services (OGS), which will be responsible for its design, programming, and location within the Empire State Plaza. The Plaza already hosts other memorials dedicated to remembrance and tribute, and the new Holocaust memorial will join these sites as a place for reflection on issues central to society.
Governor Hochul emphasized the importance of the memorial in the current climate, stating, “With the first ever state-sponsored Holocaust Memorial, we are honoring the victims and survivors of the Holocaust while ensuring that all visitors have a place to remember and reflect on what the Jewish community has endured.” She further affirmed New York’s “zero tolerance for hate of any kind” and reiterated the state’s commitment to combating antisemitism and fostering a peaceful future.
The establishment of the New York State Holocaust Memorial at the Empire State Plaza represents a significant step in ensuring that the lessons of the Holocaust are not forgotten, and that the dangers of hatred and intolerance are consistently addressed. It also highlights the evolving landscape of Holocaust remembrance in New York, from the initial, unrealized ambitions of a grand monument in Riverside Park to the diverse and growing network of memorials across the state.
