Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh's office announced Friday that the city will move the Christopher Columbus statue, the heads of Indigenous peoples of the Plains, and the bas relief plaques in downtown Syracuse. They will be relocated to a new, private location that is yet to be determined.

The release said there are plans for Columbus Circle to be renamed as well.

Walsh said that Italian-Americans, who have pushed back against the statue's removal, will remain the focus of the fountain in the circle, as well as the monument.

“This space should be both a tribute to Italian Americans and a place of healing at which we celebrate our shared accomplishments,” said Walsh. “This decision is based on the fact that we can honor our Italian American community without focusing on a statue that has become the source of division over decades and overshadowed the original intent of the monument.”

The Columbus Monument Corporation responded to the announcement, saying, "We are disappointed in the lack of respect that Mayor Walsh has shown for the Italian-American community and other supporters of the Columbus Monument. We fully intend to pursue every legal resource to stop the monument from being removed. The timing of this announcement shows the deep lack of decency and respect to the Italian community and those that support the monument."

Columbus Monument Board Vice President Nick Pirro said there's pride many people had and continue to have in Syracuse's Columbus statue.

"The Italian people were proud of their country," he said. "They were proud of Syracuse and Onondaga County. They were proud of their country, and this was put up to say, 'we're proud to be here. We're proud to raise our families here. We're proud to have our businesses here,' and now that pride is being taken away for whatever political purposes the mayor is going after."

Pirro said removing the statue means the destruction of history, but others said it's a chance to reinvent the site into a more accurate and inclusive representation.

"This is about what we can claim to know, how we understand our history, about correcting the narrative and dialogue," said Hayley Marama Cavino of the Resilient Indigenous Action Collective.

"It's my hope that it will be inclusive and that Italian Americans will also have a say and be able to celebrate their culture, and their ancestors in a good way and not in a way that continues to harm other people," said Danielle Smith who is with the Resilient Indigenous Action Collective and the Onondaga Nation.

Walsh said he plans to appoint a commission who will be responsible for determining the statue's new location, as well as designing new changes about the Circle. He expects the process to unfold in the coming months.