A Columbus man has filed a lawsuit over the renaming of Christopher Columbus Park, accusing the city of not following its own process — and informing at least one city leader of the park’s renaming.
John Cardi, a Northwest Side resident, filed the lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on Aug. 30.
In the suit, Cardi says the city ran afoul of its naming process by renaming the open space in Italian Village, Warren Square Park.
Cardi says in the lawsuit the name change took effect in September 2022 and is one of several moves the city has made to “distance itself from its namesake.”
The other moves include the city no longer celebrating Columbus Day, the removal of a statue of Christopher Columbus from the grounds of City Hall and Mayor Andrew Ginther’s call for a review of all public artwork, including the city’s seal that depicts one of Columbus’ ships, the Santa Maria.
Columbus set an administrative procedure in 2018 for renaming facilities and parks, according to the lawsuit, which allows for a park or facility to be renamed if the namesake “comes into disrepute in relation to the community at large.”