Great news for visitors to New York: City TV station NY1 is reporting that hurricane damage to parts of Liberty Island will be repaired Memorial Day after months of repairs in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.
The Statue of Liberty has been closed for more than a year, and was due to reopen on the day Sandy wreaked havoc on the East Coast. As we reported back in November, the Statue itself, the pedestal, and the base were unharmed—but the storm chewed up a brick walkway, railings, and docks on Liberty Island,
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood reportedly said that $28 million has been allocated to help repair federal parks and recreation areas damaged by the storm. The money will be used to fix ferry docks, pedestrian walkways, roads and bridges at five national parks in New York and New Jersey, including Liberty Island.
The National Parks Service has not made it clear when Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty itself will reopen to the public, but Senator Chuck Schumer has reportedly been advocating for the popular tourist site to come back into full service, according to city website Gothamist.
Neighboring Ellis Island, meanwhile, may well be closed for another year.