Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to take part in the painting.
The project was delayed a couple times and President Donald Trump tweeted that the "sign" would denigrate Fifth Avenue, calling it a "symbol of hate."
NYC is cutting Police $’s by ONE BILLION DOLLARS, and yet the @NYCMayor is going to paint a big, expensive, yellow Black Lives Matter sign on Fifth Avenue, denigrating this luxury Avenue. This will further antagonize New York’s Finest, who LOVE New York & vividly remember the....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2020
....horrible BLM chant, “Pigs In A Blanket, Fry ‘Em Like Bacon”. Maybe our GREAT Police, who have been neutralized and scorned by a mayor who hates & disrespects them, won’t let this symbol of hate be affixed to New York’s greatest street. Spend this money fighting crime instead!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2020
De Blasio responded in a tweet showing his support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
RELATED | 'Strike for Black Lives' to highlight racism, demand change on July 20
"Here's what you don't understand: Black people BUILT 5th Ave and so much of this nation," the mayor said. "Your 'luxury' came from THEIR labor, for which they have never been justly compensated. We are honoring them. The fact that you see it as denigrating your street is the definition of racism."
The mayor also said a majority of the NYPD are people of color.
You also don’t know that NY’s Finest are now a majority people of color. They already know Black Lives Matter.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) July 1, 2020
There is no “symbol of hate” here. Just a commitment to truth.
Only in your mind could an affirmation of people’s value be a scary thing.
As more murals pop up across New York City, a Black Lives Matter mural was unveiled in Harlem on Wednesday morning. The big, bold letters were drawn on Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard between 125th and 127th streets. It was painted by local artists and community group members.
De Blasio has pledged to create similar murals in each of the city's five boroughs.
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