New Yorkers sounded off on the fates of statues from Christopher Columbus to Teddy Roosevelt Wednesday at the Manhattan hearing of Mayor de Blasio's monuments commission. Speakers were split between people pushing to get rid of statues of figures tarred with racism and colonialism, and those arguing the monuments should stay as a reminder of history.

Conor Tomas Reed, a CUNY doctoral student and teacher, called for the removal of the statues of Columbus at Columbus Circle, Theodore Roosevelt outside the American Museum of Natural History, and Dr. J. Marion Sims in Central Park. "These three monuments serve as a daily reminder of colonialism, indigenous genocide, and white supremacist eugenics," he said. "That they are familiar landmarks in this city shows just how much we have inured ourselves to the horrors that they celebrate."