Assemblyman Colton (D – Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, and Dyker Heights) is outraged that the NYC DOE has renamed Columbus Day to Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous People’s Day on the 2021-2022 school year calendar.

"Ironically not too long ago Mayor de Blasio had controversial debates on the removal of the Columbus Statue and now we have learned that Columbus Day has been renamed and will be observed as Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous People’s Day on the calendar for the upcoming DOE’s school year. Amazingly Mayor de Blasio is claiming that neither he nor the schools' Chancellor knew about the renaming of Columbus Day in the 2021-2022 NYC school calendar. It’s disgraceful and this change must be rescinded. If NYC DOE wants to add an indigenous peoples’ day to their calendar is fine but not to rename Columbus Day. Columbus Day is a spirit of Italian American New Yorkers, and it’s an unspeakable insult to the Italian culture by changing Columbus Day to Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous People’s Day," Colton stated.

"I am irritated with the fact that the DOE spends more energy and time on dividing people while miserably failing to provide a quality education for all our children. After years of divisiveness directed against Chinese children, now they decided to rename Columbus Day. This is an insult toward the Italian and Spanish families. In this very year, we won the fight to repay hundreds of millions in dollars for the past shortchanging of our schools. This school administration should be concentrating on ensuring this huge increase in funding to correct the underspending of years of its failure to educate our children. As a proud Italian American, I demand that the renaming of Columbus Day be revised back to the original," Colton continued.

"Let's get together and bring the original name back. My office has drafted a petition in support of Columbus Day, and I am calling on rescinding the change. If you would like to carry a petition, then please call my office at 718-236-1598 and ask for the petition," Colton added.