30 March 2004
Reports from Many Sources
Most of the bureaus ran stories this week about the re-opneing of the Statue, along with the news that the crown may never be opened again. The Statue has been closed since September 11, 2001. $7 million has been pledged by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation to pay for security and safety improvements at the site.
Liberty Island had also been closed for about 3 months after the attacks but has since been reopened. Visits are down by more than 40%. Liberty is the only major national landmark that has remained closed since 9/11.
Visitors will be able to enter the base of the Statue this July, according to Interior Secretary Gale Norton. For the first time, reservations will be required. Norton said the statue has remained closed because it had too many potential fire and security problems and too few exits. New exits, additional screening procedures and a reservation system will be implemented prior to reopening. Work on the improvements has not yet begun.
The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation (www.StatueofLiberty.org), a national not-for-profit organization, has released ads to complete the private fund raising. $5.6 million has already been raised toward the $7.0 million dollar goal.
April 5, 2004
In a follow-up to the Statue of Liberty re-opening report, the New York Times reported of a federal investigation into the raising and distriubtion of funds by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation. The inspector general of the U.S. Interior Department also plans to determine why the Foundation launched a $7 million fund-raising campaign for the reopening when it already had a $30 million endowment.
There is speculation the statue could have reopened sooner if the foundation's existing assets had been used to pay for the upgrades. The Foundation stated that their policy is not to use its endowment to pay for major projects. The park service pursued the improvements slowly because they were not sure they wanted to reopen the statue, as well as a thorough research period and a lengthy approval process.
April 5, 2004 AP Report
Mayor Bloomberg Wants Statue of Liberty Reopened
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the Statue of Liberty re-opening:
"This is a symbol of America. Come on, let's stand up and have some guts. If we have to have the security people there, let's do it, but let's get it open," he said.
"If you have to have a police officer standing next to every single person going in there, that's a better way to do it," he said.
He was also quoted as saying that the statue never should have been shut in the first place.
Bloomberg contributed $100,000 of his own money to help pay for $7 million in security upgrades to the monument.
April 4, 2004
New York Times Extra Fund-Raising Put Off Statue of Liberty Reopening
Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton cited Folgers Coffee, American Express, and Wal-Mart in efforts to privately raise $7 million for security upgrades, including a second exit stairway, for the Statue of Liberty.
While the number of visitors to Liberty Island dropped to 1.8 million last year from 2.7 million in the first nine months of 2001, critics noted that the statue could have been opened much earlier. The nonprofit Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation witheld funds earmarked for the monument's emergency needs and the National Park Service failed to ask Congress for $2.3 million that they initially estimated for the work. The Park Service delayed action for a year trying to decide if it wanted to reopen the statue, then turned over the decision to the foundation, which bumped up the estimate to $7.0 million (following the success of an initial $5.0 million goal), partly due to improvements beyond security such as a glass roof at the base, and spent months in a separate fund raising campaign.
The foundation last year paid $345,000 to its president, and saw the value of its assets drop to $37.7 million last year, from $51 million in 2001 due to poor investements.
Stephen A. Briganti, the foundation president, defended the endowment and stated that fund raising did not delay the opening but rather the lengthy process required for study, and then get the Park Service approvals.
Edie Shean-Hammond, the spokeswoman for the National Park Service: "we may move a little too slowly for the American public," she said there was no reason to rush. "You've got to realize that we're really a very, very conservative agency. "The parks that we manage - the Statue of Liberty, Yellowstone - they will all be here 500, 700 years from now. These decisions cannot be made in a New York minute."
Last month, following public demands, the Park Service suddenly announced that the statue's reopening was imminent.
April 11, 2004
New York Post
LADY LIBERTY DEAL STIRS FERRY FURY
The New York Post reports that Circle Line Ferry was awarded a 3 year no-bid contract by the Park Service to ferry tourists to Liberty Island. Members of Congress are upset, adding frustration to the recent "Open Liberty" fund raising emabrassement. The Park Service says it is too busy revamping Liberty and Security to re-bid the ferry service this year. $10 per trip, 2003: 2.5 million passengers, 2000: 4.4 million.
