Fritz Koenig Sphere Sculpture

The Sphere to leave Battery Park, despite Web petition

An iconic World Trade Center sculpture, which was temporarily displayed in Battery Park after 9/11, is on the move again.

The Sphere, designed by German sculptor Fritz Koenig, is expected to be moved later this month. It will most likely be taken to a hangar at Kennedy Airport - where the Port Authority has stored other artifacts from the terror attacks.

Battery Park "was never intended to be its permanent home," said PA spokesman Steve Coleman. "We are exploring options on where it will be located in the short term, including JFK."

The 25-foot bronze sculpture, which was dented during the attacks, is being moved to make way for a bike path and new public lawn.

"We've been very honored to have this sculpture here," said Warrie Price, president of the Battery Conservancy.

Meant to symbolize world peace, the bronze globe became a symbol of New York's, and the nation's, resilience after it was pulled intact from the wreckage.

On the six-month anniversary of the attacks, it found a temporary refuge in Battery Park.

Many Sept. 11 family members have been pushing to have the sphere returned to its original location at what is now the 9/11 Memorial.

An online petition demanding the return has garnered more than 7,200 signatures.

"This is a denial of history," the petition reads. "It is an affront against the American spirit that triumphed 9/11; it is an assault upon truth and memory. It betrays the memory of the innocents slaughtered there."