Police and and a security fence surround the "Charging Bull" statue on Broadwy near Wall Street as tourists take photos of it.NEW YORK — It is poised at the foot of Broadway, ready to charge, a symbol of a booming economy and a surging stock market.
The famous Wall Street bull sculpture has been embraced as a monument that captures the power of free enterprise in animal form.
No matador would be a match for this crouching bovine, with its bulging muscles, whipping tail and a squint that says, "Make my day."
The 3½-ton statue has been a magnet for tourists since it was unveiled in 1989 by artist Arturo Di Modica. Traditionally, visitors rub the bull’s horns and nose for good luck.
These days, however, the bronze behemoth is off limits. Police are enforcing a strict no-touching policy for the first time in the history of the sculpture.
Authorities barricaded the bull on the first day of Occupy Wall Street, as protesters gathered at the landmark to plan the encampment.
Although the activists migrated north to Zuccotti Park, the police blockade has remained in place around the sculpture.
For seven weeks and counting, the Wall Street bull has been behind bars, monitored 24 hours a day by the NYPD.
The security measures are unprecedented, according to Arthur Piccolo, chairman of the Bowling Green Association, which helps oversee maintenance of the bull.
He says the constant surveillance is turning an icon into an eyesore.
"This could become an Orwellian situation if it goes on and on," says Piccolo. "I can’t find the person in City Hall or at the NYPD who made the decision to surround the bull. Why won’t they identify the threat that makes it necessary to keep people away from the bull every day, 24 hours a day, week after week with a police car stationed in front? If a protester wanted to damage the bull, they would have done it already."
Calls to the New York Police Department and Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office were not returned, nor did they reply to an e-mail request for a comment. A spokeswoman for the parks department referred all questions to the NYPD. The officers stationed at the bull on a recent weekday afternoon would not speak on the record.
Di Modica appreciates the city’s efforts to protect his work, officially named "Charging Bull." At the same time, he hopes the fence comes down soon and visitors can resume touching the sculpture.
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"The bull is for the people," says Di Modica. "The bull is for everyone, the people with money and the people with no money."
Occupy Wall Street participants declare they have no intention of disturbing the statue.
"The bull is art and we respect art," says Christian Ruiz, 20, of the Bronx. "There have been no marches against the bull. There have been marches past the bull. No one has said anything blasphemous against the bull. We’re not here to destroy the bull."
Over the decades, the sculpture has fallen prey to vandals wielding magic markers and spray paint, according to Piccolo. One year, a St. Patrick’s Day miscreant colored the bull’s private area green, Piccolo says. Solvent quickly cleaned the mess. On 9/11, the statue was coated with ash. It was washed to a gleam the next day.
"I don’t know what they think the protesters are going to do to a three-and-a-half-ton piece of bronze," says Piccolo. "If people camp out for 10 years, does that mean the fence is going to stay up? At this point, there’s no prospect that anything is going to change."
The front view of the bull is often blocked by NYPD squad cars with flashing emergency lights. Wayward tourists cluster along the sidewalks, unfolding maps and scrutinizing smart phones.
The whole scene is silly, says Michael Angelo Bosch, a demonstrator in Zuccotti Park wearing a Santa suit.
"They’re wasting taxpayer money," says Bosch, 50, of Jersey City. "Imagine, they’re worried about the bull and using taxpayer money to protect it."
Di Modica built the bull as an unsanctioned gift to New York City in the wake of the 1987 stock market crash. He spent two years and nearly $300,000 shaping the animal, perfecting its aggressive pose to reflect American resilience.
"I made the bull for peace, love, friendship and optimism for the young people," says Di Modica. "I didn’t want to make a bear because then the stock market would go down."
He delivered the sculpture to the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 15, 1989. The artist played Santa, secretly transporting the 16-foot bull at night from a Brooklyn foundry to the stock exchange Christmas tree.
The next morning, workers were baffled to find a bronze animal loitering on Broad Street. Because Di Modica did not have a permit to display the bull in public, the sculpture was towed away after several hours and impounded in the guts of a Queens truck company parking lot, according to news clippings.
Tabloid coverage made the capitalistic cattle a cause celebre, and within days, city officials found the monument a home in Bowling Green Park. Di Modica was granted permission to exhibit the statue for three months.
A community board voted to boot the bull when its term expired, hoping to dissuade other artists from following Di Modica’s lead and depositing rogue sculptures on city streets without authorization.
Popular sentiment kept the bull put, however, and a Christmas curiosity evolved into a Lower Manhattan fixture.
Di Modica’s sculpture has never been guarded and patrolled for prolonged periods, according to Piccolo. He fears the bull could be caged indefinitely.
"In a city like this, there are threats all the time," says Piccolo. "I’m sure there are threats against the Statue of Liberty, but they still let people go there. Tourists want to touch the bull. If they can’t touch the bull, fewer people will go there. The city is undermining the value of a landmark by surrounding this bull."