For Salazar, First Stop Is Lady Liberty
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Newly-confirmed Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will visit the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island in New York Harbor tomorrow, a sign, some New Yorkers believe, that the Obama Administration will reopen the sections of Lady Liberty closed since 9/11. The trip is Salazar's first to a national park. He'll hold a press availability with members of the NY congressional delegation.
The statue's pedestal was opened to the public in August 2004 but the National Park Service, which oversees the famed monument, kept the statue closed.
Rep. Anthony Weiner, a Democratic candidate for New York major, has pushed for the lady's great crown to be reopened, calling it his "mission." He unsuccessfully sponsored legislation in the House to do so. The bill's Senate sponsor and co-sponsor? Salazar and Obama.
Personal aside alert ... For this granddaughter of a Polish immigrant who arrived at Ellis Island in 1921, and whose name is inscribed on its wall, this is welcome news.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
The crown of the Statue remains closed not for security reasons related to 9/11, but for safety reasons. The Statue was never designed to safely accomodate the throngs of visitors that were going to the crown. The island and pedestal can be safely accessed. The climb to the crown requires a long, steep, climb up a spiral staircase that has a width that can only accommodate one person at a time. That means that you can NOT turn around and leave once you start. Heart attacks, pregnancy, high blood pressure, etc. all result in dangerous and expensive emergency operations to remove people, literally requiring Search & Rescue teams and often a litter lowered by ropes to get them out. In the summer temperatures in this copper statue sitting out in the harbor reach well over 100 degrees. Large crowds often mean hours of wait staring at the hind quarters of the person in front of you on the stairs. Is this a dignified way to honor American principles of Liberty? Is this why the National Park Service, which takes care of the most important American legacies, was given responsibility for the Statue? Leave the crown closed, and preserve some dignity for ourselves and some apprciation for the meaning behind the monument.