Big Apple preposition

[Nordic Bill]

I'm not too thrilled with the results of a Google search on this one. Would you use "of" or "for" (or perhaps both) in this instance?:

"The Statue of Liberty is the international symbol __________ New York City."

Thanks,
Bill

[Temico]

"The Statue of Liberty is the international symbol for New York City."

For "symbol", I 'd use "for", just like "CO2" is a symbol for "carbon dioxide"

However, for "landmark", I'd use of. e.g. "The Statue of Liberty is a well-known landmark of New York City."

BTW, what would you call the "Little Mermaid", a "landmark" or a "symbol" for Copenhagen??

[Nordic Bill]

Thanks. I was really in doubt about this one, since "for" would also seem to direct fame toward the city it serves to symbolize.

[Nordic Bill]

Oops - sorry I overlooked the question you posed about The Little Mermaid.

I would definitely refer to it as a symbol of Copenhagen, since that is where it/she is situated and it is of historical and cultural significance.

The statue itself, on the other hand, is quite small (human size) and a landmark to me would indicate something larger (eg. The Statue of Liberty) and alas the Little Mermaid would not be able to facilitate navigation into Copenhagen Harbour by any means.

[Temico]

it is of historical and cultural significance.

Is it, the statue of the Little Mermaid, of historical and cultural significance only to Copenhagen or to Denmark as a whole? If she ( Out of respect, I, personally, wouldn't refer to the statue as an "it" even though it's made of stone) is indeed of historical and cultural significance, I would refer to her as a Danish heritage and not as a symbol.

[Nordic Bill]

How about a symbol of Danish heritage?

[Temico]

a symbol of Danish heritage?

"a symbol of Danish heritage" means "one symbol out of many symbols of Danish heritage", right?

So, "a symbol of Copenhagen" means "one symbol out of many symbols of Copenhagen", right? When you say, "The Little Mermaid is a symbol of Copenhagen, then you mean that "she" is only one of the many symbols of Copenhagen.
Now, apply that to your "Statue of Liberty question" and you'd know what I was talking about.