Community Corner

NBC Puts Cape on Grand Army Plaza Statue

Stunt promotes new TV show, but some locals are not impressed.

A TV network has turned four iconic Brooklynites into caped crusaders.

The Grand Army Plaza statue of 19th century U.S. Representative James Samuel Thomas Stranahan was among four statues throughout the borough fitted with long, flowing capes in an elaborate promotion of NBC's new superhero show, "The Cape."

According to the network, the capes are meant to draw a link between Brooklyn's heroes—like Stranahan, who was a Brooklynite—and the fictional ones depicted in the upcoming TV series.

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But few Park Slope residents seemed to even notice that Frederick William MacMonnies’ 1891 statue of Stranahan had traded his top hat, cane, coat and gloves for a new wardrobe.

“You can’t even tell that anything is different unless you get really close,” said resident Isha Smith, who walked right past the statue without noticing a thing. “The cape is black, and the statue is black, plus it is set so far back from the sidewalk.”

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The dressed-up statue had a plaque in front of it that promoted "The Cape" and also mentioned Stranahan’s achievements—including securing the funding and political support for Prospect Park. Though, in order to acturally read the plaque, passersby would have to trek through the several inches of slick snow surrounding the statue.

The city Parks Department and NBC said that the promotion, which also caped Civil War hero General Fowler in Fort Greene, George Washington at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge, and Christopher Columbus at Borough Hall, was a win-win for both parties.

“Our goal with this program was to introduce the public to the hero of our new series “The Cape” by shining a light on the heroes represented in statues all over New York City.  We wanted to highlight the diversity of the city’s monuments,” said Cathy Goldman, Vice President of Brand Strategy and Promotion for NBC. “It was truly a win-win as we were able to both support the Parks Department and increase public awareness of our new show.”

According to a press release from the network, the plaques aim to highlight character traits between Brooklyn’s own heros and the character traits of the star of “The Cape,” Vince Faraday,

But locals found the similarities a little hard to imagine.

It is doubtful Rep. Stranahan ever imagined his figure being used to promote popular entertainment as he fought tooth and nail to secure money to build Prospect Park, or when he presided over the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge.

The same goes for Gen. Fowler as he led his troops into a bloody struggle to preserve the country.

"It's kind of weird — kind of wrong," said Candice Crawford, observing the statue of Gen. Fowler. "Is it OK with the generations of people that are alive and still connected to [Fowler]?"

Still, that doesn't mean Fowler was above some unorthodox fashion decisions. His men were dubbed the "red-legged devils" because of their red trousers and ferocity in combat.

Neither the Parks Department nor NBC would disclose how much money was given to the city for the promotion—first reported by The Brooklyn Paper—that will last through Sunday and involves 30 statues in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Though the verdict is still out on whether anyone at Grand Army Plaza will even notice the change.

“I didn’t even realize there was a statue there, let alone that it was wearing a cape!” said Megan Cooke, passing by.


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