Mayor de Blasio isn’t sure if Christopher Columbus is still statue-worthy, but a parade is a different story.
“I will definitely be marching in the Columbus Day Parade,” de Blasio said Monday in Brooklyn. “The parade is a moment to express our pride in our Italian heritage, for all of us who are Italian, and for others to recognize the contributions Italian-Americans have made to New York City and the whole country. So I am absolutely comfortable continuing to march.”
Hizzoner’s promise comes as he’s under fire from fellow Italian-Americans for refusing to rule out the removal of statues of Christopher Columbus — the Italian explorer who landed in the Americas in 1492 while searching for a route to India.
While Columbus has been a source of pride for Italian immigrants, others — including Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito — note his arrival was disastrous for native people and led to their colonization, and have called for monuments to him, including the towering one in Columbus Circle, to be removed.
But de Blasio argued those people were getting ahead of themselves.
The commission that will review the city’s monuments has yet to even be appointed, he said, though they will likely be named “in a matter of days.”
“We’ll put together a group of people; they will listen to ideas and concerns of their fellow New Yorkers; they will determine a set of criteria by which we will consider these different monuments on city-owned land; and make proposals to me about how to handle the specific situations,” he said.
Options could include removing a statue, doing nothing to it, or something in between — like adding a plaque to provide further history and balance, de Blasio said.
He argued the commission would allow for a “thoughtful” process that would avoid “one-off” considerations based on a single person’s values.
The Columbus Circle statue was donated to the city by Italian immigrants, and de Blasio noted that in the face of serious discrimination in the past and continued unfair stereotypes today, many Italian-Americans seek out sources of pride for their culture.
“I think we were all taught that Columbus was a source of pride because of his achievements,” de Blasio said. “There are some things to be proud of, there are some things to not be proud of.”
But he again said those worried about the statue’s removal — some descended on City Hall for a press conference led by Councilman Joseph Borelli (R-S.I) last week — should not “pre-judge.”
While Italian-American pols and advocacy groups have ripped the mayor over the Columbus kerfuffle, he wasn’t afraid those some people would boo him at the October march.
“I am never dissuaded by criticism or opposition,” de Blasio said. “Anyone who can’t handle criticism or opposition shouldn’t be mayor of New York City.”
