Donated sculpture gets a prominent place in Port’s Coal Dock Park

Port Washington’s newest piece of public art was put into place Tuesday.

A 12-foot-high sculpture modeled after the iconic “I Love New York” logo that uses a red heart to symbolize the word love, was installed at Coal Dock Park Tuesday morning.

The sculpture was lit Tuesday night, and the city plans to install landscaping around it to create one more amenity in the lakefront park.

Mayor Ted Neitzke told the Common Council he’s particularly pleased that the sculpture uses the same white paint that was used on the Port lighthouse when it was refurbished last year.

The aluminum sculpture, which is affixed to a concrete base, was paid for through donations from Cloverleaf Infrastructure, which worked to bring the Vantage Data Centers Lighthouse Campus to Port, and CD Smith, which is working on several large projects for the city.

The $100,000 donation includes money for a maintenance fund.

Neitzke said he hopes the sculpture will become a focal point for the community, saying he envisions it becoming a place where tourists can take photos with the lighthouse in the background, high school seniors can have class photos taken and newlyweds can pose for their scrapbook photos.

He told aldermen Tuesday that he hopes this is only a start to a sculpture program in the community, adding he wants to see the Parks and Recreation Department and its Friends group work with other artists to locate other sculptures in the community, particularly in Coal Dock Park.