Bronxite wants Columbus gone
Castle Hill resident starts petition to get rid of Belmont statue
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Bill de Blasio
Mayor
Oxiris Barbot, MD
Commissioner
BY JASON COHEN
One Bronxite wants a
statue taken down in the
borough, following a slew of
historical statues that have
been vandalized or toppled
due to racial tensions.
Recently, Castle Hill
resident and activist, Felix
Cepeda, 39, launched a petition
calling for the Christopher
Columbus statue on
Arthur Avenue in Belmont
to be taken down.
“All the Columbus statues
need to be removed in
NYC,” the petition states.
“There are many Italian
Americans that I admire
like Mother Cabrini or
Vito Marco Antonio that
the Italian community can
choose to honor. They can
visit the Mother Cabrini
Shrine in NYC. For many
Indigenous and Black
people Columbus only
represents oppression.”
With a cousin that lives in
Belmont, Cepeda frequents
D’Auria-Murphy Triangle
Park often, where the park’s
centerpiece is a statue of
Christopher Columbus.
Cepeda told the Bronx
Times a friend of his found
the park closed last week
and Cepeda has returned
twice since and found it
open, but with a police presence
in the front. A parks
department spokesman said
this was an NYPD matter.
“It’s very sad that because
of a Columbus statue
this park has become militarized
to the point that
the cops can shut down the
park whenever they want
without the permission of
the Parks Department,”
Cepeda said.
He hopes the statue is
taken down, but doesn’t
want another to replace
it. He stressed if putting a
new statue there is a must
for the Italian community,
then maybe a one of Mother
Cabrini or Vito Marco Antonio.
He said that these individuals
are Italian Americans
that did a lot of good
for the poor.
“I think there are so
many people we can honor
from our cultures,” he
said. “Why choose people
like Columbus that for
many people was mostly a
horrible person?”
Cepeda said he has spoken
to people Belmont
who support removing
the statue, but elected offi
cials have not said anything
yet. He believes the
pols do not want problems
with members of the Italian
American community.
Peter Madonia, chairman
of the Belmont BID, supports
the statue and wants it
to stay in the park.
“The Christopher Columbus
statue has been in our
neighborhood park for decades
and has been a source
of pride for our Italian-American
community for generations,”
Madonia said. “While
Christopher Columbus indeed
has a complicated history,
we encourage the opportunity
to better understand
his legacy on all sides.”
The Christopher Columbus statue in D’Auria-Murphy Triangle Park.
Alex Mitchell
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