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Undaunted by playwright Eugene O’Neill’s professed hatred of his hometown and some residents’ hatred of him, the city of New London, Conn., has commissioned a statue of the writer for the city’s harbor. The work by sculptor Norman Legassie will portray O’Neill as a child, sitting on a rock with a sketch pad. Legassie, 36, says he was inspired by a photograph of O’Neill at age 5 or 6. Legassie says the statue he is creating will show a little boy who knew much pain early on. O’Neill, a tormented, moody man, made no secret of his dislike for this old whaling city where he spent--some say misspent--his youth.