New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday night that a Statue of Christopher Columbus in Manhattan is being considered for removal, The New York Post reported.
“I’m not going to get into the name game here,” De Blasio said when asked about the statue during a Democratic mayoral debate.
He added, “We have to look at everything here.”
The 76-foot statue of Columbus was given to the city by a group of Italian Americans in 1892, CBS News noted.
The NYPD Columbia Association, an organization of thousands of Italian American law enforcement officers, is advocating to keep the Columbus’s monument on city grounds.
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito told reporters earlier in the week she would “encourage” officials to consider to remove Columbus’s statue.
(RELATED: Councilwoman Wants To Remove NYC Christopher Columbus Monument)
Rally against removal of #Columbus statue #cityhall #video #1010WINS pic.twitter.com/HlqZnhRmHE
— Juliet Papa (@winsjuliet) August 24, 2017
On Thursday afternoon, A rally was held at City Hall on Thursday in an effort to show support to keep the statue of Christopher Columbus in Columbus Circle.
“It’s Columbus today and who knows who will be on this secret list tomorrow,” Staten Island Councilmen Joe Borelli said Thursday. “This is an unfortunate chapter in New York City’s history.”