Officials Blast NPS Plan To Move Security Screenings To Ellis Island

With the Statue of Liberty scheduled to reopen on July 4, New York officials are pressing the parks department to reconsider new security procedures that they believe put the monument at "greater risk" for a terrorist attack, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

At issue is the point where visitors are screened for Statue of Liberty tours. The National Park Service has said it plans to move security screenings to Ellis Island, after visitors have taken ferry rides from New Jersey and Manhattan. Those wanting to visit the statue will undergo a second screening.

On Monday, New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer called on the park service to revert to the procedure that was in place before the park had to be closed for repairs following superstorm Sandy: screening visitors at Battery Park and New Jersey before they board ferries.

That security strategy, which involved having visitors go through the same detectors used at airports, has been in place since after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"The NYPD and the National Park Service have differences when it comes to protecting visitors from a terrorist attack," Mr. Kelly said.

"I believe this change can cause serious problems and make those who travel there at greater risk than they are now," Mr. Schumer said.

A National Park Service spokesman, Mike Litterst, said via email: "The National Park Service provides security at national icons across America and has done so successfully for decades. Safety...will continue to be our number one priority."

The statue and Liberty and Ellis islands have been closed since Sandy battered the region in October. The statue, which sits elevated on Liberty Island, was left unscathed by the storm, which flooded the island and destroyed infrastructure.

Park officials said the Battery Park and New Jersey screening sites were always meant to be a temporary solution. The storm damage accelerated the construction of the Ellis Island screening facility.

Mr. Kelly said there is no immediate threat to the statue, but said there remains an overall threat to key monuments. "In our judgment the threat has not abated," he said.

Messrs. Kelly and Schumer said they have had discussions with the parks service, which they said so far has resisted their overtures. Both recently sent letters to Sally Jewell, the department's newly appointed secretary, in hopes she will reconsider.

If money is the issue, they said, the additional costs could be offset by a "nominal" increase in the price of tickets, which now run from $9 to $20.

"They have talked to both of us repeatedly," Mr. Schumer said. "Thus far, they have resisted. With a new commissioner, hopefully they will change their mind....Right now the park service is not showing that carefulness we need."

Read More:

Officials See Risk in Statue Security Plan
Parks Department Asked to Reconsider New Security Procedures
The Wall Street Journal - May 27, 2013 - By Pervaiz Shallwani

Statue of Liberty Set To Reopen By July 4th

The Statue of Liberty, pictured here in November, will reopen on July 4th after being closed to visitors since Hurricane Sandy. (Photo: Ángel Franco/The New York Times)

City-Wide

Lady Liberty will reopen by Independence Day, in time to catch the second half of summertime traffic. In a teleconference on March 19, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said that statue was on track to open by July 4 of this year, bringing back much-needed jobs and tourism to Lower Manhattan, according to an article in Downtown Express.

The iconic statue has been closed since Superstorm Sandy roared into the harbor on Oct. 29, 2012.

“Hurricane Sandy inflicted major damage on facilities that support the Statue of Liberty — destroying the docks, crippling the energy infrastructure on Ellis Island and wiping out the security screening system — but we are fully committed to reopening this crown jewel as soon as it’s safe for visitors and not a second later,” said Salazar.

Senator Charles Schumer, who was on the press call, was excited about the impact the reopening would have on the city’s economy.

“Being open for the summer tourism season isn’t just important symbolically, it’s a boon to the city’s economy and businesses, as the statue attracts millions of tourists from all over the world to our shores,” he said.

A report released last month by the National Park Service showed that in 2011, 3.7 million people visited the park, bringing in $174 million and providing over 2,000 jobs.

“I heard from all over New York that this was hurting our tourist industry,” said Schumer, not to mention the “400 people whose lives were somewhat in limbo.”

Liz Berger, president of the Downtown Alliance, said in a statement: “One of Lower Manhattan’s premiere tourist destinations, the reopening of Lady Liberty this summer is terrific news for the local tourism and hospitality industry and for the millions of annual tourists visiting from near and far.”

Salazar said that crews have been working around the clock to push for an aggressive comeback, and that the rebuilding process was making the island not only able to reopen but better prepared to weather future storms — good news since the grim press conference at the end of February, when the sequester was weighing heavily on the Parks Department and no timeline could be established.

Asked if it was possible to open sooner, he said it was a possibility but that the number one priority was making sure visitors were safe and secure, a concern stemming from damage to the security screening tent in Battery Park. An announcement on the topic will be made next week by the National Parks Service.

The tent has never been popular Downtown and the National Park Service proposed moving security screening to Ellis Island, but the N.Y.P.D. contended that screening should take place prior to boarding the ferry. Salazar said that the discussions with the N.Y.P.D. were both “positive and productive.”

Along with security screening, there is still damage to the utilities and infrastructure that need repair. The statue, 154 feet off the ground, was mostly unscathed by the storm.

Ellis Island, on the other hand, sustained heavy damage and its reopening date is uncertain. Over one-million artifacts were moved to the National Park Service Museum Resources Center in Maryland for preservation in January.

In the meantime, Liberty Island is being updated to withstand future storms, said Dennis Reidenbach, the National Park Service’s Northeast Regional Director, including a permanent, storm-resistant dock with $59 million allocated for both islands’ repairs.

Lady Liberty’s reinstatement will be a crown jewel indeed, as the statue will be open all the way to the crown.

The announcement seemed like a special moment for Salazar, who is about to step down as secretary. In 2009, three days after he took over the department, he announced that the crown would reopen that July 4th — the first time since the 9/11 attack.

Read More:

Statue of Liberty to open July 4 

Downtown Express - March 20, 2013 - BY Kaitlyn Meade

Statue of Liberty to Reopen by July 4

New York Times - March19. 2013 - By Patrick McGeehan

11-Year-Olds Rob, Bloody 75-Year-Old Man In Battery Park

Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

A couple were robbed by two 11-year-olds at Battery Park On Friday, A Walk In the Park has learned.

The tourists, a 75- year-old man and his wife visiting from Great Britain had just gotten off the boat from the Statue of Liberty in Battery Park when they were approached by two 11-year olds on the sidewalk who demanded their money. The man was knocked to the ground and suffered a laceration above his eyebrow. The kids forcibly took his wallet which contained $ 90 dollars according to law enforcement sources. The incident occurred on Friday, November 18th at 3:30 p.m. at Battery Park near Pearl and State streets.

The victim was transported to NYU Downtown Hospital.

The kids were apprehended on the Staten Island Ferry by NYPD and transported to the 1st Pct. They were charged with robbery, assault and disorderly conduct.

A third child with the group was not charged. He went back and asked the man if he was alright according to a witness.

The assailants were originally believed to be 13.

The tourists checked out of their hotel on Sunday.

A few weeks ago in Battery Park an emotionally disturbed homeless woman slashed a restaurant worker in the stomach with a broken bottle.