Mayor Kenney: City of Philadelphia to accelerate plans to move Frank Rizzo statue

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Plans to move the statue of former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo have been accelerated.

Mayor Jim Kenney said Sunday that the statue would be moved 'in a month or so.'

He made the announcement a day after the statue was vandalized amid violent protests in the city.

The statue has been repeatedly vandalized over the past several years, and promises to move it have been made for just as long.

Before Sunday, the most recent plan was to move it during the planned renovation of Thomas Paine Plaza.

RELATED: Frank Rizzo statue targeted by vandalism; vandals spray paint 'fascist'

The Action Cam was in Center City where the Frank Rizzo statue was targeted by vandalism on December 8, 2019.

The Rizzo statue was sprayed with graffiti Saturday by protesters who also tried to topple it and set a fire at its base.

Rizzo, mayor from 1972 to 1980, was praised by supporters as tough on crime but accused by critics of discriminating against minorities.

The 10-foot-tall statue currently resides outside the city's Municipal Services Building.

Crews lower the statue of Frank Rizzo into place on December 31, 1998