The town of Brookhaven, New York, has offered to take statues of Christopher Columbus and George Washington amid New York City’s talks of removing them.
According to the New York Post, the Long Island town has already determined where the statues would be placed.
Town Supervisor Ed Romaine stated, “You know, I didn’t want to comment on whether that was right or wrong because that’s a decision of the city. But I said, ‘If you’re going to do that, hey, we’ll take the statues.’”
“We look at their accomplishments, what they did for their time and how they contributed to the long arc of history,” he went on.
Romaine then added, “And we would welcome having those statues.”
This is in response to a proposal to remove statues of historical figures who have been deemed “controversial” by certain movements that seek to remove the legacy of leaders who owned slaves or are now considered to have acted cruelly toward Native Americans.
Romaine sent a letter to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, noting the importance of these historical figures to the people of Brookhaven.
He said, “The Brookhaven Town Board knows the importance of our history in bringing us to the place we are today.”
“If we look through our eyes today and try to judge them for what they did years ago as some people may do they come away with a different view. I look at their contribution to history overall, I look at what they’ve done,” he concluded.
Romaine also told the Post that by relocating the statues, these figures “could get the respect that they’re deserving.”
Brookhaven is home to an estimated two dozen parks, and Romaine noted the city has already pledged to pay for the statues’ transport “because we still understand that history is a long arc.”