Yonkers Christopher Columbus statue vandalized
YONKERS - Police are looking for someone who vandalized a Christopher Columbus bust in a Yonkers park.
The damage in Columbus Memorial Park on Park Hill Avenue was reported to police Tuesday morning; no one has been arrested.
"We are investigating, including the possibility that it could have been juvenile vandalism," Yonkers police spokesman Sgt. Dean Politopoulos wrote in an email.
Arty Thanasoulis said he reported the damage to police Tuesday after noticing the bust was missing from its pedestal Monday afternoon. Thanasoulis speculated the vandalism might be related to recent events around the country in which Confederate statues have been vandalized or removed.
"Everybody wants to change history," he said.
Altagracia Fernandez sat next to the park Wednesday morning, evangelizing for the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses on Highland Avenue. The Yonkers resident said she saw a report in the media about the vandalism, but didn't realize she was sitting near the damaged pedestal.
"It's a crime," she said. "They should have to pay for it."
Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino denounced the vandalism as a crime and said: "The statue craziness is getting absolutely ridiculous and must stop. We are a society of laws, not mob rule.”
Recently, statues of Columbus have been surrounded by controversy. Last week, New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio's office said a statue of Columbus in Manhattan's Columbus Circle was under review because of concerns raised about it. That action is part of a 90-day review of all controversial public statues in New York City.
Fernandez said she's aware of the controversy surrounding Columbus statues. When asked whether the Yonkers statue should be replaced, she wasn't sure how to respond.
"History books say so many things and we don't know what's true," she said.
It's not the first time someone has gone after the maritime explorer in the same park. In November 2001, another bust of Columbus was stolen.
Columbus Memorial Park is in a neighborhood that was once largely Italian American, but is now predominantly Hispanic. In past years, the park served as the focal point for the city's annual Columbus Day parade until the parade and festivities were moved to Midland Avenue where there is a greater Italian American presence.
More Yonkers news
ACCIDENT:Yonkers man, 21, charged in crash that killed Nina Cordero
ACCIDENT: Funeral set for Nina Cordero, Roosevelt High grad killed in Yonkers crash
SPORTS: Yonkers Montessori 2017 lohud girls soccer preview
RETURN: Yonkers' El Poblano Cafe reopens after fire
ROOF COLLAPSE: No action at National Wholesale Liquidators
FOOD: Taco Project opens at Boyce Thompson Center
SIGN UP for The Y-O, reporter Ernie Garcia's Yonkers newsletter