Ãngel Franco/The New York Times The Statue of Liberty, pictured here in November, will reopen on July 4.The Statue of Liberty, which has been closed to visitors since Hurricane Sandy struck in late October, will reopen by the Fourth of July holiday, federal officials said Tuesday.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Sen. Charles E. Schumer announced the plan to reopen the monument three weeks after Mr. Salazar toured Liberty Island in New York harbor. The secretary had planned to announce a reopening date on that trip, but after seeing the unrepaired damage, he held off.
The statue was not harmed by the storm, but several structures on the island were ruined, including the dock for ferries carrying visitors from Lower Manhattan and Liberty State Park in Jersey City.
Another obstacle has been a long-running disagreement between the National Park Service and the New York Police Department over how to handle security for the statue. Before the storm, visitors passed through airport-style screening lanes before boarding ferries.
The park service would prefer to move the screening operation to Ellis Island, where only those tourists who want to visit the statue would be screened. But the city police want the passengers screened for weapons and explosives before they board the ferries in Battery Park.
The issue has not been resolved, according to Paul J. Browne, chief spokesman for the police department. Mr. Browne said on Tuesday that “discussions are ongoing,†but he reiterated the department’s prior position: “We have concerns that if you don’t have it on the Manhattan side, you’d have an element of risk on board the ferry itself.â€
