New York to remove Teddy Roosevelt statue from outside American Museum of Natural History

New York City officials will remove the statue of former President Theodore Roosevelt outside of the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, following complaints that the statue depicts racial insensitivity.

The New York City Public Design Commission voted unanimously Monday to take down the statue of the former president, according to The New York Times.

"The American Museum of Natural History has asked to remove the Theodore Roosevelt statue because it explicitly depicts Black and Indigenous people as subjugated and racially inferior," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, said last year when museum officials originally debated removing the statue.

"The city supports the museum’s request. It is the right decision and the right time to remove this problematic statue," de Blasio added.

The statue depicts the 26th president on horseback flanked by a Native and African American on either side.

Roosevelt's statue will be removed and relocated to a cultural institution dedicated to Roosevelt's legacy, though a timeframe for when this will occur is unclear.