Lady Liberty's been off-limits since 9/11, but city is carrying the torch for her, trying to raise $5 million to boost security and allow statue to reopen.
Posted on 11/26/2003 11:02:56 AM PST by presidio9
Lady Liberty to America: Can you spare a dime? Mayor Bloomberg helped launch a nationwide fund-raising campaign yesterday to raise $5 million to reopen the Statue of Liberty.
The landmark has been closed because of security concerns since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, although Liberty Island remains open.
And while the federal government doles out millions of dollars in homeland security funds to out-of-harm's way states such as Wyoming and North Dakota, it hasn't forked over enough dough to reopen the nation's most enduring symbol of freedom.
"It's great that people want to help open Lady Liberty again, but the city shouldn't have to go around with a tin cup to keep our national monuments open," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the task force on homeland security for the House Democratic caucus.
"This is just another example of the federal government shortchanging New York on homeland security funds," Maloney (D-Manhattan) said.
The money being raised in the fund-raising campaign will go for a variety of physical improvements that will boost security, such as upgrading fire suppression and emergency notification systems and creating additional exits from the statue's base.
Most of the money already has been pledged: American Express has agreed to donate a minimum of $3 million, and Folgers Coffee has pledged $1 million. That leaves only $1 million left to be collected.
"It would have been great if the federal government would pay for it, but the reality is they aren't," said Ed Skyler, Bloomberg's press secretary.
The Bloomberg administration had requested that federal security funds be allocated to Statue of Liberty improvements, but it suddenly withdrew the request last week after American Express pledged its donation.
"Since we learned of the commitment from Amex, it essentially let the federal government off the hook," Skyler said.
Cynthia Garrett, superintendent of the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island for the National Park Service, said there is a tradition of relying on private-sector money.
In the early 1980s, the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation was established after then-President Ronald Reagan asked Lee Iacocca, then chairman of Chrysler Corp., to spearhead a private-sector effort to raise funds for the restoration and preservation of the statue and Ellis Island.
The foundation has raised $500 million for numerous projects, most notably the statue's restoration, which was completed in 1986 in time for Lady Liberty's centennial.
The federal government did increase the operating budget for Liberty and Ellis islands to $11 million from $10 million following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The parks also received $2 million to boost security, including the introduction of metal detectors.
Officials declined to say when the statue would reopen but said they were hopeful it would be sometime next year.
They also said it was unlikely that visitors would be allowed to climb to the statue's crown. When the statue reopens, visitors likely will be stopped at the statue's base.
Lady Liberty's been off-limits since 9/11, but city is carrying the torch for her, trying to raise $5 million to boost security and allow statue to reopen.
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