The sculptures are on loan for a year from the Peter Rose Gallery in Manhattan, giving park visitors ample opportunity to enjoy them, or for those more serious about Mr. Meadmore's contribution to sculpture, to return and view them in different seasons.
Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Weiner also plan to return contributions Century made to their campaigns, according to their spokesmen.
As politicians scramble to return contributions from Enron, the failing energy trading company, the advocates of limiting money in politics say their cause has been reinvigorated.
The draft opinion would allow the nominees, if both agreed, to return contributions they had solicited for the general election campaign and limit themselves to public financing for it instead.
Mr. McCall's spokemen have said that he favors campaign finance reform, but until laws are passed that apply to all candidates, he could not afford to return contributions while potentially facing a well-financed incumbent like Mr. Pataki.
This year, three of the top candidates in the 2013 Los Angeles mayoral race all vowed not to accept any campaign donations from Walmart, after unions sent a letter urging them to return contributions from the retail giant.
Unless he successfully appeals, Mr. McDonald will now have to return contributions that exceed the city's cap — a total of $79,650 — and will have to repay a corporate loan of $120,000.
Immediately after the House ethics committee's actions against Mr. DeLay, Democrats set about trying to exploit the issue -- sending an e-mail appeal for contributions based on Mr. DeLay's troubles, pointing out his ties to moderate Republicans they hope to defeat in November and renewing calls for Republican candidates to return contributions from the Mr. DeLay's political action committee.
"S.E.I.U. has a good deal of its finances tied up and entangled with Acorn, and since 2006 it has given nearly $4 million to Acorn," said Tim Murtaugh, communications director for the Republican Party of Virginia, which has asked the Democratic candidate for governor, Creigh Deeds, to return contributions received from the union.
"We try as far as possible not to return contributions but we acknowledge that there are circumstances in which returns are inevitable," he said.
