It's a pity . . .

It's a pity that six years of work and the best intentions have resulted in so much flak over a six-story-tall sculpture of the Portuguese Queen Catherine of Braganza, but the protest is a lesson in awareness.

The sculpture, by Audrey Flack of East Hampton, was to be unveiled on the Queens side of the East River in a ceremony commemorating the consolidation of the five boroughs into New York City. It was a gift from Portuguese-Americans and the Portuguese Government, and a gesture of friendship to the borough that was named in her honor.

Queen Catherine, whose husband, King Charles II of England, owned slaves and profited from their trade, has been decried as a slave mistress even though she left money in her will to buy slaves' freedom. Opponents of the statue have argued that it would be a perpetual insult to the black residents of Queens.

We agree. Imagine someone plunking a six-story-tall sculpture of King George on the South End Green in East Hampton Village or of the Pequods on Fort Hill in Montauk.

Queens Borough President Claire Shulman, although originally a Catherine supporter, recently joined efforts to find a place for the statue on private instead of public land. Let's hope they meet with success.