Statue of Liberty Pedestal to Reopen

JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Staring up at the Statue of Liberty, 10-year-old Brent Coats was green with envy. Although his big sister Megan was allowed to go inside the statue during a visit in July 2001, Brent had to settle Tuesday for an exterior view. The 151-foot statue has been closed to the public since the Sept. 11 attacks.

"I was very disappointed," said Brent of Westmoreland, Tenn. "Liberty means freedom to me."

The National Park Service has vowed to restore the public's ability to enter the statue's six-story pedestal this summer.

The event will be commemorated on Independence Day this Sunday with a special addition to the Macy's fireworks display, but the pedestal's reopening will not happen until late July or August.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-statue-reopening,0,3196907.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines

that the Statue of Liberty would end up being closed for most of W's term in office.




This closing was approved of by George W. Bush