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Crowning moment for Lady Liberty?

BY GLENN THRUSH | Newsday Washington Bureau

May 26, 2006

WASHINGTON - The Senate's passage of immigration reforms might be a crowning achievement for lovers of Lady Liberty.

While senators were wrestling over the final details of the massive measure, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) was stealthily slipping in an amendment reopening the Statue of Liberty's crown and 354-step staircase to the public for the first time since Sept. 11, 2001.

The National Parks Service shut down Liberty Island for 100 days following the attack. Three years later, the feds reopened the base and 150-foot tall pedestal, but kept the steps and crown off-limits out of fire safety and security concerns.

"You can't let fear govern you; it's not like New Yorkers to cower in fear," Schumer said yesterday.

But Schumer's legislative legerdemain will be for naught if the House and Senate fail to reach a compromise on the controversial immigration effort. A free-Lady-Liberty bill sponsored by Schumer's protege, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Forest Hills), which would give the parks department $1 million to reopen the statue's crown, was passed earlier this month.

"It's great if they can do it safely," said Stu Loeser, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Parks Service spokeswoman Tina Kreischer said, "We always have looked at opening it back up if the security issues could be dealt with. We're looking at [Schumer's amendment]."

Responding to another post-Sept. 11 concern, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y) introduced a bill to improve federal oversight and coordination of emergency communications systems to avoid radio snafus that hampered rescue efforts at the World Trade Center.