A controversial statue of Christopher Columbus in Providence will remain under wraps and hidden away for a while longer. The statue was removed from its pedestal in the Elmwood section of the city in June 2020, following repeated vandalism, and placed in storage. The city’s Board of Parks Commissioners is holding off for now on a recommendation to sell the Columbus statue.

The board met Monday to discuss the issue. “Columbus is not to be respected if you pay any attention,” Ray Rickman, who heads the Special Committee for Commemorative Works, told the board. The Special Committee is recommending the statue be sold, and the cash be invested in the community. “The art is so valuable, so important, so stunning that it should be protected and its value should come back to the community,” Rickman said.