Weiner, Schumer Press Fight To Reopen Statue Of Liberty

United States Senator Charles Schumer has joined Congressmember Anthony Weiner in his fight to get the Statue of Liberty reopened to visitors after its being shuttered since 9/11.

Weiner (D-Queens/Brooklyn) thought he had won the long fight last Thursday when the House of Representatives passed his amendment to spend $1 million to allow for the reopening of the national symbol which had been closed because of security concerns.

"Now, hopefully, the National Park Service gets the message and does what it should be doing, which is opening Lady Liberty's crown," Weiner declared.

He added, "The symbolism is so important. I can't imagine we are technically unable to secure the site." Security measures could include possibly limiting the number of visitors or by banning hand bags.

The following day, the National Park Service had not changed its stance and remained adamant about not reopening the statue.

Phil Sheridan, a spokesman for the NPS' Northeast Region, issued a statement saying that all aspects of the statue's operations were under review. He also noted that questions had been raised about the statue's security even before 9/11.

But Weiner charged the agency was making excuses by using a terrorist attack as a reason to keep the park closed. "Shame on them," he declared.

During last weekend, Schumer got into the fight, calling on the NPS to reopen the statue completely by July 4, charging that the agency had made the statue into a symbol of fear, rather than a symbol of freedom.

Wiener added: "By this Independence Day, we should declare independence from our fear; we should declare independence from acts of terror and we should say we're going to reopen the Statue of Liberty."

The state's senior senator also threatened to introduce legislation mandating the reopening of the statue.

Visitors are free to visit Liberty Island, where the statue stands, and the statue's observation deck, but the statue's crown remains off limits. In August 2004 tourists were allowed back into the statue, although with only limited access to the base.

-John Toscano