Shutdown forces closure of Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island
new york — The US government shutdown had an instant impact on two of the world’s top tourist destinations: the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
The National Park Service announced that both New York sites would be closed on Saturday “due to a lapse in appropriations.” Late on Friday, the US Senate failed to approve legislation to keep the government from shutting down after the midnight deadline.
The park service said the closure of the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island was effective immediately and until further notice. Gov. Andrew Cuomo vowed to find the money to reopen the Statue of Liberty as soon as possible, but it remained closed.
“I didn’t expect this,” said Anabell Coredor, who had bought six tickets for her family to visit the famed sights. “We came all the way from Miami for this.”
It was their only chance, since they had to travel home later Saturday.
For ticket refunds, visitors were told to contact the private Statue Cruises company that runs ferries from lower Manhattan to the statue and Ellis Island, the historic entry point in New York Harbor for immigrants to the United States that is now a museum.
The ferry company honored ticket holders for a cruise in the bay — to at least see Lady Liberty from afar. Many declined.
“To get this close where you can see them, and the government shuts them down — that’s very, very frustrating,” said Dan O’Meara, a firefighter from Fresno, California, who is descended from an Irish immigrant family that entered through Ellis Island. “But now, we’re not allowed to go out there and see it.”
O’Meara was in New York working as part of a team helping to train fellow New York firefighters in hazardous materials. Free for the weekend, he remained land-bound. —