Sunday marks 95 years since the statue of General Philip Schuyler was first unveiled outside of Albany City Hall. The statue was donated to the city in 1925 by George Hawley, in memory of his late wife Theodora.

Mayor Kathy Sheehan announced Thursday, though, that the statue will be removed. The announcement comes after she says a number of employees reached out to her, saying the statue makes them uncomfortable due to Schuyler’s ownership of slaves.

What You Need To Know


  • The Philip Schuyler statue has been outside Albany City Hall for 95 years

  • Mayor Kathy Sheehan says a number of employees have told her the statue makes them uncomfortable

  • It's unclear when the statue will be removed

Schuyler was a member of the Continental Congress, a general, a senator, and an advisor to George Washington. He also owned more than a dozen enslaved people, making him one of the most prominent slave owners in the Capital Region.

"I'm just learning the deep impact it has had on people who have worked in this building while I’ve been mayor for the last seven years," said Sheehan.

While the statue is coming down, it's far from the only Schuyler reference in the area. Schuylerville is named after him. His home in Albany, the Schuyler Mansion, is a historic site.

Philip is buried along with several family members in Albany Rural Cemetery. About if people ask about Schuyler, Dave Quinn, the general manager of Albany Rural, said, "There’s a certain few names we get regularly; certainly, Schuyler is one of them."

Schuyler died in 1804, and while his final resting place has moved several times, he remains in Albany Rural Cemetery. It's just unclear if he is buried under his large monument there or with his in-laws, the Van Rensselaers.

"We can’t get into that plot," says cemetery trustee Mark Bodnar. "That’s buried underneath the earth, and no way are we about to excavate the plot."

Sheehan says she doesn't know where Schuyler's statue will end up, but the city is hoping to keep it somewhere in Albany.