He was punched and chased from the park by a group of men. Tyler Cousins (left) was one of five people who came to Marconi Plaza to challenge those who are defending the statue of Christopher Columbus. That didn’t sit well with some residents, who hired Bochetto and filed suit. Within a few months, the effort had been approved by three city commissions or review boards and was on its way to being carried out. The current tug-of-war began in 2020, during the social justice protests that surged across the globe after George Floyd’s murder.Īfter Marconi Plaza was the site of clashes that turned violent, Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration started the process to have the statue removed. ( and throughout the Americas) have taken down representations of the 15th century explorer some view as a perpetrator and architect of genocide against Indigenous people.Ĭalls to reimagine Columbus tributes in Philly have been loud since at least 2015. Since the 1970s, several dozen places in the U.S. There are just under 150 Christopher Columbus statues still standing throughout the country, according to an October audit by Philadelphia-based Monument Lab. And we’re winning every one of them,” said George Bochetto, who represents Friends of Marconi Plaza in a lawsuit against the city. “I’ve got Columbus fights going on all over the East Coast. The opposing attorney expressed similar confidence. “The city still intends to move forward with its plan for the relocation of the Christopher Columbus statue,” Kevin Lessard, communications director for the Mayor’s Office, told Billy Penn mid-December.

Christopher columbus statue