A statue of Christopher Columbus was unveiled at the Hollywood Avenue Recreation Center on Saturday, Oct. 9. The statue was donated to the township by the Fairfield Chapter of UNICO National in honor of Fairfield’s Italian heritage. In Feb. 2018, Amedeo Pineta, president of Fairfield UNICO, addressed the Fairfield Township mayor and council asking for their support on allowing UNICO to place a Christopher Columbus statue in Fairfield.

The project was unanimously agreed upon. One reason for its approval was, according to the United States Census Bureau, Fairfield has the highest percentage of Italians living in one community in the whole United States, with more than 50 percent of its residents being of Italian heritage. At the ceremony, Pineta gave a speech on Christopher Columbus and Italian immigration, and Fairfield Township Mayor James Gasparini also spoke.