Reopen Liberty's Crown

The crown has been closed out of concerns that fire and terrorism hazards for the cramped spiral staircase could not be overcome.

"For the better part of three years now, they've been dancing around this issue," said Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., who has sought to force the National Park Service to reopen the crown.

"This is the first time they've said they're not moving forward, they're essentially done looking at it," said Weiner. He called the decision "the final victory of the terrorists on Sept. 11."

In a letter to Weiner dated Aug. 4, outgoing Park Service Director Fran Mainella wrote that "the current access patterns reflect a responsible management strategy in the best interests of all our visitors."

Another congressman, who oversees the House subcommittee on national parks, said he may hold hearings to re-examine the issue and the agency's decision.

"While I respect the Park Service's justified concern for public safety, I am disappointed with their apparent decision to stop trying," said Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M. "Americans have a right to hear something better from their National Park Service than the implied message of this letter, which is 'never.'"

The statue, which sits on 12-acre Liberty Island in New York Harbor, was shut down after Sept. 11, 2001. After spending $20 million on security and safety improvements, the government reopened the statue in 2004, but only up to the top of the pedestal, or Lady Liberty's toes.

The new security measures included a bomb detection device that blows air into clothing and then checks for particles of explosives residue. Bomb-sniffing dogs also have been seen at the site.

Senator Charles Schumer, who was one of many trying to get the crown reopened, said in a statement: "The Park Service announcement shows that at least in this case, freedom has given way to fear. The Park Service should be ashamed of their cowardice. They still haven't told us why the Washington Monument, with a longer, narrower staircase, remains open."

July 5, 2006

It's a fire hazard. [Does copper and steel burn?] The stairs are too narrow [stay single file]. The stairs get too crowded [walk faster]. People become claustrophobic [then don't go in]. People get vertigo [don't look up or down]. People have heart attacks [stay home or exercise more often]. Quickly evacuating a crowd in an emergency would be impossible [just like any tall building, the Saint Louis Arch or Washington Monument]. It's hot in the summer and once you get to the crown, there's not much to see anyway [it's not just the view, it's the experience]. And yada yada yada.

Although both Houses of Congress have voted to reopen the Statue of Liberty, the national - no, international - icon remained closed for yet another Fourth of July, as puling excuses continue to emanate from the National Park Service, the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation and their spokesflunkies. Who, however, would have expected the mayor of New York to side with the naysayers?

On his weekly radio show Friday, Mike Bloomberg joined the yada yada yada chorus, criticizing "people who want to have press conferences - elected officials - and yell and scream" about the shuttered statue. We can only presume he was talking about New York's Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Anthony Weiner and New Jersey's Sen. Bob Menendez, who have brought the matter to national consciousness. As for the cowardly Park Service, "I don't know why they need the aggravation," said Hizzoner. Oh, dear. Poor put-upon Park Service. Happily, a mayoral press aide later said Bloomberg thinks reopening would be great, if it could be done safely.

The statue was closed after 9/11, along with other national monuments. It is the only one to remain off-limits, no matter what the NPS wants you to think.

The bureaucrats will claim the statue is open, but that is a lie. Only the base, the pedestal, is open. The public was again allowed access to that in August 2004, but the staircase to the crown - the central part of the visitor's experience for generations - remains sealed. The excuse is safety. But the NPS has exhibited a strange unwillingness to address remedies for any safety issues. The prevailing attitude is a can't-do one. Or maybe it's won't-do. As Weiner pointed out in a speech on the House floor in May, the primary problem appears to be "lack of imagination or will on behalf of the Park Service." Precisely.

For one example, if the NPS fears problems caused by crowds, let it limit the number of people who can climb the stairs on a given day, in a given hour. At least the statue would be accessible again.

Security can be resolved. Must be resolved. Lady Liberty stands now in our harbor a testament to everything that is anathema to the American spirit and American way. And isn't that the supreme irony?

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Since September 11, 2001, the Statue of Liberty has been closed from head to toe. Yet the Department of Interior (DOI) and the National Park Service (NPS) still refuses to fully reopen the one landmark that truly represents the freedom and liberty that we hold dear in America.

I am deeply saddened that future generations may never know this great American experience. I am saddened all the more at the reason why. Terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center, but they didn't take these other things away from us. We are taking them away from ourselves.

On August 3, 2004 the DOI and NPS reopened Lady Liberty's pedestal. The DOI and NPS think visitors should only be able to stand atop the 150-foot-high pedestal near her feet. Some people think that stinks! Lets not let her be know as the Statue of Limitations.

Before November 2000, the NPS has tried to use the "fire safety" excuse to close access to the crown. Just like the Black Tom explosion of July 30, 1916 was the excuse to close access to the torch. In 1984, upon inspection of the Statue of Liberty during her restoration, no damage was found to substantiate the claims made of severe structural damage from the explosion.