Statue of Liberty to remain open amid shutdown, feds say

The Trump administration on Thursday said Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty will remain open to the public despite the ongoing government shutdown.

“Thanks to the leadership of President Donald J. Trump both Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty remain open for the enjoyment of the American people,” a Department of the Interior spokesperson said in a statement.

The shutdown, which began Wednesday, has affected many federal operations, though crowds continued to board ferries to tour the sites in upper New York Bay with no immediate signs of disruption, according to The Associated Press.

The sites are managed by the National Park Service, which furloughed about two-thirds of its employees at the start of the shutdown, the AP reported.

Gov. Kathy Hochul warned Wednesday the shutdown could affect the landmark and disrupt food assistance programs such as SNAP and WIC, but spoke of no plans to keep the Statue of Liberty open using state funds, as then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo did during a federal shutdown in 2018.

Other national parks are expected to remain mostly open, the AP reported. The National Park Service’s contingency plan calls for park roads, lookouts, trails and open-air memorials to “generally remain accessible to visitors.”

Parks without “accessible areas” will be closed, and additional sites could shutter if damage occurs or garbage accumulates during the shutdown, according to the AP.