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NY foots the bill to reopen Statue of Liberty

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Lady Liberty is back in business!

The Statue of Liberty reopened on Sunday after the state agreed to eat the cost of running the statue during the government shutdown much to the delight of tourists, who said the Big Apple isnt the same without a trip to the iconic landmark.

Excited tourists cheered the reopening after a 10-day-long closure in Battery Park as they awaited boats to take them across New York Harbor.

Its so patriotic and it opened the day we got here, so yay! said Heidi Jonsson, 40, who was visiting from Georgia.

Another visitor, Joleen Gorgen, 64, of Iowa described hearing news the statue would reopen while riding on a tour bus.

We were on the bus and everybody just whooped and hollered. That was the big thing, Gorgen said.

Were so appreciative to the state of New York I think weve stopped everybody on the island to thank them for doing this, she said.

Gov. Cuomo was on hand and said its crucial for New Yorks economy to have Lady Liberty up and running.

The economic damage done by closing the Statue of Liberty is profound you have thousands of vendors who rely on it, Coumo said.

You have to remember the Statue of Liberty is one of the main tourist destinations [it's] a very big draw, he said.

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NY foots the bill to reopen Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty reopens after New York state agrees to take over daily costs

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Published October 13, 2013

Associated Press

NEW YORK Lady Liberty was once again welcoming visitors to her shores Sunday after the state agreed to shoulder the costs of running the famed statue during the federal government shutdown.

Eager sightseers stood in line in Manhattan's Battery Park, waiting for the ferry trips to the Statue of Liberty, which had been shut since Oct. 1.

Esther Athanase, a 26-year-old au pair from Le Havre, France, was using a ticket she'd booked months ago with a friend. "We have to do this," she said. "It's an American symbol. And it was a gift from France."

Ahmed Albin-Hamad, 24, a Saudi Arabian student at Drexel University in Pennsylvania, said he came to Battery Park to get a view of the statue.

"I assumed it was closed, but at least I could see it," he said. He was surprised and excited when he found out the statue had reopened.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that the state would pay about $61,600 a day to reopen Liberty Island National Park through Oct. 17. If the shutdown is not resolved by then, officials said, they will renegotiate to keep it open.

New York has 33 sites under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, and they have been shut since Oct. 1 during the partial federal government shutdown. The sites include the statue and nearby Ellis Island, which remains closed for repairs since Superstorm Sandy last year.

Nearly 4 million people visited Lady Liberty in 2011, generating $174 million in economic activity, the park service said.

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Statue of Liberty reopens after New York state agrees to take over daily costs


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