Huntington Won't Take Down Christopher Columbus Statue, Officials Say

Christopher Columbus Day is still a day to be celebrated, Huntington officials say.

Despite calls across the region to consider removing statues of Christopher Columbus from public areas due to the explorer's connections to colonial abuse against Indigenous Americans, the Christopher Columbus statue in Huntington isn't going anywhere.

Town of Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone called the Columbus statue, which has been located in Huntington Village for more than 40 years, "an inspiration to Italian-Americans."

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“Christopher Columbus is a symbol for the positive contributions Italian-Americans have made to this country for more than 500 years, and removing this representation of Italian-American pride would be a slap at all of the Americans of Italian extraction who have made our country what it is today,” Petrone said in a press release.

Local elected officials held a press conference on Friday to publicly announce their stance on the statue.

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“Just as Huntington is proud to have hosted the Long Island Columbus Day Parade for the past 15 years, we are additionally proud to be the home of a statue celebrating all those accomplishments from Columbus on," Petrone said.

The Long Island Sons of Italy Columbus Day Parade will take place in Huntington on Sunday, Oct. 8. Read more about the parade here.

Rep. Tom Suozzi, a democrat, said, Columbus day was always a celebration of his Italian-American heritage.
"There is always more to learn about the past and we should encourage continuous education about the history of our country, its founding and Native Americans, but we cannot disregard the importance of Columbus, his accomplishments and his role in Italian-American culture," he said.

Patch photo