The plan to move the bull has been underway for some time -- to the dismay of the artist Arturo Di Modica, among others -- but was finalized on Thursday. The city has not disclosed a new site for the sculpture.

"The city is moving ahead with plans to move the Bull to protect the safety of New Yorkers," Mayoral Spokesperson Jane Meyer said.

The bull has called its current spot in Bowling Green home for nearly three decades. The 7,000-pound statue was initially placed outside the New York Stock Exchange in the middle of the night in 1989. Executives at the exchange didn't like it, however, and so Di Modica worked with the city to find a new placement for the bull.

The sculpture has become synonymous with Wall Street, and has endured its fair share of controversy. It was the site of protests from the Occupy Wall Street movement, and more recently protesters staged a "die-in" by pouring fake blood and climbing on the statue to protest climate change.

NBC New York reported that the mayor's office confirmed on Thursday that there are plans to move the statue to a pedestrian plaza near the Stock Exchange. The NYSE declined to comment on the location.