Crackdown announced after Alec Baldwin falls for tour ‘scam’

NEW YORK >> New York City officials vowed Tuesday to crack down on vendors selling boat rides around the Statue of Liberty after actor Alec Baldwin complained that he was among the many people scammed into thinking he was buying tickets to the statue itself.

Baldwin posted on Instagram Sunday that he and his wife, Hilaria, “Two sharp, savvy NYers,” bought $40 tickets for themselves and their children for a boat tour of the Statue of Liberty and were escorted to a shuttle bus to New Jersey.

“I kid you not,” Baldwin said in his social media post. “We paid. Then we read the tickets.”

New York City Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Gastel said the shuttle bus the Baldwins were directed to transports passengers from lower Manhattan to New Jersey, where they get on a boat that offers views of the Statue of Liberty.

A message was left with the tour operator that apparently sold Baldwin the tickets.

Only one tour company, Statue Cruises, is licensed to take visitors to Liberty Island, but ticket sellers from other companies often mislead tourists into believing they are booking a ride to the statue. There have also been reports of scammers selling tickets to the Staten Island Ferry, which is free.