#InTheLoop | Queens Has A Huge Heart

The universal symbol of love is making a home in Queens.

The Heart Monument was installed at Hunter’s Point South Park in Long Island City on Monday, Dec. 20.

Created by Sicilian sculptor Sergio Furnari, the 10-foot, 3,000-pound, red, stainless steel piece pays tribute to health care heroes. It also emphasizes love for Covid victims, gratitude for those who helped during the darkest hours, and the bonds forged between those who came together during the pandemic.

Furnari is famous for his Lunchtime on a Skyscraper: A Tribute to America’s Heroes pieces that are based on an anonymous, black-and-white photo of 11 ironworkers sitting on an I-Beam during the construction of Rockefeller Center in 1932. He has created many representations in different forms, including a life-size sculpture from metal mesh and resin which adorns the top of his truck.

As it sits by the LIC shoreline, The Heart Monument is certainly enjoying the view of Midtown Manhattan and the East River, but it’s only there through February 2022. Annalisa Iadicicco, a mixed-media artist who founded The Blue Bus Project, is taking the work on an NYC Love Tour. (It was at the southeast corner of Central Park in late October.)

Editor’s note: The Heart Monument is on the west side of the old railroad tracks, aligned with 51st Avenue, in Hunter’s Point South Park. It’s the same spot where Floating Woman spent the last year.

Images: Rob MacKay