Of course some of the usual suspects in favor of keeping the Columbus statue in the city. I would love to see in my lifetime some of old way of governing Syracuse be retired, like most all of these folks. They contribute nothing to forward advancement, it's the same old, same old with this crew. And I have no doubt a lot of money greasing their palms.
Pirro couldn't manage the finances of the SPCA FFS and yet here he is campaigning to keep this statue.
More than 100 people turned out to her former state Sen. John DeFrancisco and others.
www.syracuse.com
"...More than 100 people gathered in Columbus Circle to cheer speakers including former state Sen. John DeFrancisco and former County Executive Nick Pirro.
...DeFrancisco, ...said the Columbus statue should not be seen as a celebration of any wrongs the explorer may or may not have committed (DeFrancisco said he wasn’t sure). ...“That was in 1934. Not 1492. Got it? Not 1492,‘' said DeFrancisco...
“Whatever Columbus may or may not have done in 1492, other than discover America, the fact of the matter is that this statue was put up not at the time that these events allegedly were happening,‘' he said."
And finally this dim bulb, the same guy pushing the Save 81 BS:
"...Mark Nicotra, Onondaga County’s deputy commissioner of parks, acted as emcee for the rally.
Nicotra, who is also president of the Columbus Monument Corp., urged the crowd to sign an online petition supporting preservation of the statue.
“This is an important rallying of support, really in support of our Italian heritage,‘' Nicotra told the crowd. “That’s what is threatened.‘'