Battle Brewing Over Controversial Sculpture Along Ossining Water Front

OSSINING, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- There's a battle brewing over a controversial statue in Westchester County. Some Ossining residents say it's ugly, and want the artwork they call an eye sore removed along the village's Hudson River waterfront.

The statue is a hot topic on Facebook in the Hudson Valley. Should it stay, go, or just be changed? Comments like "Please take it down, it's really very ugly" and "what a mess" showed up on a town social media page.

The statue was built in 2015 for a developer, but there have been calls to change a transparent blue glass circle installed at the top of the wishbone shape against the artist's wishes.

"He wanted a kind of lighthouse effect so it might draw people toward it," sculptor Peter Lundberg said. "I told him from the beginning that I thought it was a really silly idea."

Lundberg says in the last six months, he's urged for the change.

"I do believe in my own work, I'm not trying to offend anyone with it," he said. "My work is pretty quiet, so sometimes it's a surprise to find this contentious debate."

The mayor of Ossining tells CBS2 the sculpture was actually supposed to be a welcoming arch for people coming to town on the Hudson River. She encourages people to appreciate it from that point of view, with the town in the background.

"I thought it was very different, kind of interesting modern art," Harbor Square resident Brandon Milonovich said. "I didn't quite understand what it's about , what it's purpose was."

It's the second of Lundberg's sculptures the developer has placed at projects along the Hudson, and he's aware not everyone will appreciate his work. The artists says if given the chance, he already has a plan of how to get rid of the contentious blue circle of glass.