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THE STATUE OF LIBERTY-ELLIS ISLAND FOUNDATION SPEARHEADING EFFORT TO “RE-OPEN LADY LIBERTY”
NEW YORK, NY (September 22, 2003) -
The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. is launching a campaign to raise $5 million to reopen the doors
of the Statue of Liberty, closed on the morning of September 11, 2001 due to safety and security concerns. While
Liberty Island reopened to the public two months later on December 20th, the Statue has remained closed and security
for her is significantly heightened.
A number of critical improvements need to be made to the monument before The
Lady can be accessible to the public, and the National Park Service (NPS) has once again called upon its partner, The
Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, to help get the job done. “We are fully committed to doing all that is
necessary to see that Lady Liberty can again welcome her millions of annual visitors,” said Stephen A. Briganti,
Foundation President and CEO. “The generosity of the American people made her historic restoration in 1986 a
resounding success, and we turn to the public again to assure that Liberty’s message of freedom and hope will
continue to inspire us for generations to come.”
With the “Re-Open Lady Liberty” campaign now underway, the
Foundation can begin to help implement plans to overhaul security, fire and emergency notification systems, create
additional exits from the Statue’s base and enhance visitor safety measures throughout the monument.
“The
groundbreaking work done by the Foundation in partnership with the NPS has been a model for all of America’s national
parks,” stated NPS Northeast Regional Director Marie Rust. “We are proud of what we have accomplished together and
grateful to the Foundation for once again coming forward to assure that this most beloved of national monuments – Liberty
Enlightening the World – will again be safe to accept her visitors from America and around the globe.”
The “Re-Open Lady
Liberty” project marks a new phase in the 20 year relationship between The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation and
the National Park Service – the most successful public/private partnership in U.S. history – which accomplished the
historic restorations of the Statue and the north side of Ellis Island, the creation of the world-class Ellis Island
Immigration Museum and the establishment of an endowment to help preserve these monuments for years to come.
For
further information on the “Re-Open Lady Liberty” campaign or to make a donation contact:
The Statue of Liberty-Ellis
Island Foundation, Inc.
292 Madison Ave, 14th Floor
New York, NY 10017-7769
212-561-4500
# # #
Peg Zitko
(212)561-4517
pzitko@ellisisland.org
Maria Antenorcruz
(212)561-4542
mantenorcruz@ellisisland.org
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