Art Commission To Hold Special Hearing, Public Comment On Schenley Park's Christopher Columbus Statue

By: KDKA-TV News

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The Art Commission announced a special hearing and public comment period about the Columbus statue in Oakland.

The hearing will be held on Sept. 17 at 5:30 p.m. The link to join will be posted on the Virtual Art Commission page the day before the meeting, and it will also be streamed on Youtube.

People can give testimony in three ways: by a verbal statement during the hearing, through Engage PGH or in a written statement. Each person has to say what they want to happen to the statue: nothing, removal, replacement or alteration.

Last month Mayor Bill Peduto called for a public process for reviewing the Christopher Columbus statue in Schenley Park. The statue is owned by the city and sits on city property.

This statue has been vandalized twice in the recent months.

In June, the statue was vandalized with red paint. Hand prints and phrases including "murder" were painted on the statue before it was cleaned up.

Then in July, the messages said "no more racist rapist," "BLM" and "abolition now."

Around the country, other Columbus statues have been taken down or vandalized. The future of the statue outside Pittsburgh will be considered starting Wednesday with a discussion at the city's Art Commission virtual meeting.

The commission will then make a recommendation to the mayor on how he should proceed.