Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh gives in to the left

Columbus statue in National Register of Historic Places to be REMOVED in Syracuse, NY

Syracuse Mayor Walsh says final plan for Columbus Circle monument expected this year

In October of 2020, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said the Christopher Columbus statue would be removed from its spot in the center of Columbus Circle. As we approach the end of January 2021, the statue is still there.

The statue has stood in what became known as Columbus Circle since 1934. The Circle's official name has been St. Mary's Circle since 1901. In October, the mayor said the statue would be moved to a private site ultimately.

At the time, the mayor said the process for removing the statue would "unfold in the coming months." Since then, his office has not revealed any concrete timeline on when the statue will actually be gone.

CNY Central pressed the mayor's office and the mayor for that timeline. On Wednesday, Mayor Walsh said the city does not have legal authority at this point to remove the statue. He said they need a specific plan for what will go in its place. That plan will need to get approval through several boards and commissions before work can move forward. Columbus Circle is a historic district in the National Register of Historic Places, so the State Historic Preservation Office has to review any plans.

"I expect to have the final plan for what the monument and what the circle will look like this year," the mayor told CNY Central's Meghan Bragg. "It's just a matter of the logistics of funding and approval process of when the work will be underway."

The mayor said the city is also facing cooperation issues with opponents of the statue's removal.

"We want the Columbus Monument Corporation to be a partner in that process," he said about the future plans for the site and finding a private location for the statue. "Up to this point they have not been willing to do that."

Renewed calls for the statue's removal came in the summer of 2020, as similar statues were torn down by protesters across the country.

https://cnycentral.com/news/leading-syracuse/syracuse-mayor-walsh-says-final-plan-for-columbus-circle-monument-expected-this-year

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