The Chicago Park District says it had the authority to remove a Columbus statue from a Near West Side park, despite an Italian American organization’s argument that a decades-old agreement proves it should have been consulted first.

Park District spokeswoman Michele Lemons’ statement that “the District maintains it was within its rights to temporarily remove the Columbus statue from Arrigo Park” comes after the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans unearthed a 1973 contract regarding the care of the statue.