After nearly three months of continuous community debate sparked by the removal of the Christopher Columbus monument in Wooster Square on June 24, New Haven is now looking to its Italian American citizens for ideas for an “appropriate” replacement, according to a Sept. 16 memo sent out from New Haven Major Justin Elicker’s office.

The Wooster Square Monument committee, which Elicker appointed after the statue’s removal, has met several times in recent months to discuss a substitute for the monument, according to Bill Iovanne, the committee’s chair. He said the committee has resolved itself to find an idea for the replacement of the Columbus statue from within the city’s Italian American community.