PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia judge has ruled that a controversial statue of explorer Christopher Columbus will remain in South Philadelphia’s Marconi Plaza for the moment, reversing earlier calls to remove the statue from public view.
According to a Tuesday ruling from Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Judge Paula Patrick, the City of Philadelphia’s argument as to why the Columbus statue should be removed from the plaza lacked proper legal foundation.
“It is baffling to this Court as to how the City of Philadelphia wants to remove the statue without any legal basis. The City’s entire argument and case is devoid of any legal foundation,” Patrick said.
Patrick’s ruling overturned prior decisions from the City of Philadelphia Board of License and Inspection Review and the Philadelphia Historical Commission to remove the 144 year-old statue.
After both of those organizations opted to remove the Columbus statue, the Friends of Marconi Plaza, its President Rich Cedrone and local resident Joseph Q. Mirarchi filed legal action in a Philadelphia court, appealing the decisions and fighting to have the statue remain in Marconi Plaza.
The statue became a source of controversy and a focus of racial injustice protesters in the summer of 2020, during social unrest in Philadelphia after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Many in Philadelphia, a city with a large Italian-American community, said that the statue represented their ancestry. However, others claimed that Columbus and the statue which honors him is a symbol of racism and oppression.
Violent clashes took place between the statue’s defenders and protesters at Marconi Plaza in June 2020, resulting in police responding to the scene in order to control the crowd.
As a result, the City looked to remove the statue from Marconi Plaza, feeling that its continued presence constituted an ongoing danger to the public. The Philadelphia Historical Commission and the City of Philadelphia Board of License and Inspection Review concurred, both deciding in favor of the statue’s removal.
Prior to the planned removal, the statue was covered and contained by a plywood box.
However, Patrick ruled that the City’s grounds for removal were legally flawed.
“The record before this Court was devoid as to any ongoing civil unrest. Accordingly, it was arbitrary for the Philadelphia Historical Commission to interpret that the statue’s removal was necessary in the public interest based on those transient and isolated incidents,” Patrick said.
“This Court notes that no evidence was presented to the PHC or the Board that a history of civil unrest surrounding, and with respect to, the statue existed, nor has any been present since June 23, 2020. Therefore, it was an error of law for the Board to affirm the PHC and it would be error for this Court to affirm the same.”
Patrick added that the City failed to allow a 90-day requirement for public input, pursuant to the Managing Director’s Directive, and instead only allowing 28 days for such input.
“The City of Philadelphia and all of its agencies have an obligation to comply with the law and regulations that may have been enacted to govern or guide the orderly process of justice. This did not happen here. This is clearly an abuse of discretion as well as arbitrary action,” Patrick said.
Through a spokesperson for Mayor Jim Kenney, the City expressed its disappointment with Patrick’s ruling.
“While we are very disappointed with the ruling, we’re reviewing it now and exploring all potential options – including a possible appeal. The statue remains in Marconi Plaza and will continue to be secured in its existing box,” Kenney spokesperson Kevin Lessard said.
The appellants are represented by George Bochetto, Matthew L. Minsky, David P. Heim and John A. O’Connell of Bochetto & Lentz, in Philadelphia.
The City is represented by Danielle E. Walsh, Leonard F. Reuter and Jason R. Greenspon, of the City of Philadelphia’s Law Department.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 201000295
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com