Noa Bornstein’s “Peace Gorilla,” a bronze gorilla sculpture, greets and high-fives park goers along the esplanade of Newtown Barge Park in Greenpoint. Peace’s arm extends toward the United Nations building across the East River, while she stands on a concrete base inscribed with the word for ‘friend’ in 90 languages—beginning with the six official languages of the UN. Bornstein’s work promotes peace between humans, with visitors welcomed and encouraged to touch, high-five, and engage with the sculpture. “Peace Gorilla” is an edition of seven, with the artist imagining one on each continent. Interestingly, Peace is not the only bronze gorilla sculpture to ever grace New York City–in 2020, “King Nyani” was on view in Hudson Yards, a sculpture which was an homage to critically endangered mountain gorillas in the wild and the largest bronze gorilla statue in the world. Surely Peace and King Nyani would make great friends. Ms. Bornstein says that Peace Gorilla “continues to invite us to make friends and peace with each other, and with hers and other species.”

On a trip to Uganda, artists Gillie and Marc Schattner were able to observe a family of critically endangered mountain gorillas in the wild and were moved by what they saw. Their sculpture, King Nyani, is based on the dominant silverback gorilla, the head of the family that they observed. King Nyani, Swahili for gorilla, is the largest bronze gorilla statue in the world. How large? His hand is large enough to fit two to three people, or an outstretched child. Visitors can view King Nyani in person through May 2021 at the Bella Abzug Park in Hudson Yards, just across from the Vessel. What else can you do before or after seeing the gorilla? You can vote! Early voting in New York City starts this Saturday, October 24!