From the archives: Lady Liberty to reopen soon

This story was originally published in Newsday on March 27, 2004
 
America will soon get back its symbol of freedom.

The Statue of Liberty, closed to visitors since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, will reopen shortly, National Park Service Deputy Director Don Murphy said at a congressional hearing this week.

Murphy said the reopening is "really imminent," now that a $7 million fund-raising drive for the 117-year-old monument is nearing its close. An official announcement will follow as early as next week, he added.

At Battery Park Friday, people boarding a Circle Line boat for a grounds-only tour of Liberty Island praised the news.

"Lady Liberty is part of our American family," said Donald Raper, 30, an accountant from Harlem who was in Battery Park on his lunch break. "It marks New York, and without it, there is no New York City, there is no America, there is no world."

Tourist Lorna Bryson, 67, of Portland, Ore., remembered her first visit to the statue as a third grader during World War II.

"As soon as the Statue of Liberty will reopen, I will come back, in hopes that I will have that same liberating experience in seeing her as I did in 1944," said Bryson, a mortgage broker clerk.

Along with corporate pledges and grants, thousands of people have contributed to raise the $7 million needed for safety improvements, including an emergency exit and upgraded fire safety system, through statueofliberty.org, said Peg Zitko, spokeswoman for the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.

So far, $5.9 million has been raised.

"We are confident that we will raise [the remainder] of those funds before the completion of the project," Zitko said.

In November, officials said visitors would likely have access to the statue's pedestal, but not its crown. The statue's torch has been off limits since 1916.

Clay Harris, 17, of Evansville, Ind., was happy enough to be on the statue's grounds for the first time Friday, singing the national anthem with 100 classmates from Evansville North High School.

"It's the most exhilarating experience I can ever have," he said.