The Columbus Monument Corporation has filed a motion against the city of Syracuse in an effort to protect the Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus Circle downtown. 

The monument began to cause friction last sumer when protesters called for its removal at the height of the Black Lives Matter rallies. City officials and advocacy group representatives gathered together several times to discuss the future of the statue while members for the Italian American community and others advocated against its removal.

Back in October, Mayor Ben Walsh announced that the statue would come down, and the fountain and obelisk would remain and be renamed.

It was recently announced this month that the city had developed a new "Heritage Park Advisory Commission" that includes members of the Onondaga Nation and Syracuse's Italian American community, along with other local stakeholders. The task force was created to plan and develop a new education site at Columbus Circle.

In the court documents obtained by Spectrum News, the Columbus Monument Corporation note that the monument was "entrusted to the city in 1934 by thousands of city residents of Italian descent in gratitude for America" and argues that the monument currently sits within a preservation district making it protected by "various state, local and federal preservation laws."

The case's petitioners also claim that Mayor Walsh violated the city charter with his declaration of the statue's planned removal. The group claims in the suit that the mayor doesn’t have the legal authority to remove to the statue because it's protected by preservations laws and the mayor acted without consulting the Common Council.

“We choose to preserve the art, history and heritage of the Columbus Monument in its present location. We prefer that St. Mary’s Circle and adjacent parcels be a place where everyone’s story can be told, where our community’s ethnic heritage and history can be shared. This is a vision we suggested in the Mayor’s 2020 Dialogue Circle, advocating for addition, not subtraction. Our organization committed to raise funding to make this vision a reality," said Columbus Monument Corporation Vice President Nick Pirro in a statement Monday.

Pirro says that the city's attempt to remove the statue feels like an assault on his Italian heritage and its a major driving factor in the lawsuit that's been filed by the Columbus Monument Corporation.

“As a leader of this city, I think it’s a very poor decision,” said Pirro.

Columbus Monument Corporation Secretary Robert Gardino also commented Monday saying, "We ask the good people of Syracuse to tell Mayor Walsh this should be a celebration of historical diversity, and should not be an act of destruction, or be dismissive of the intentions of the Italian families that built the Monument and their contribution to our community.”

The city’s plan for the statue is not to demolish it but move it to a private location, Mayor Walsh explained last October.

In a statement, Syracuse Corporation Counsel Kristen Smith writes that the city will respond in court and that the city will follow local and state laws in the relocation and preservation of the statue.Pirro says litigation is the corporation’s only option to prevent the removal of the statue.

“Unless he steps forward and tries to work out something we suggested in the beginning, it will be handled in court,” said Pirro.