Statue of Liberty Reopens on July 4 — Ellis Island Still Shut Since Sandy

Untold Damage: Sandy inflicted an estimated $59 million in damage to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Officials don?t know if the landmarks will open anytime soon. Image by getty images

By Seth Berkman July 3, 2013

The Statue of Liberty will re-open on July 4 after being closed for eight months due to damage incurred from Hurricane Sandy, but Ellis Island remains closed.

The national monument has been largely off-limits to the public for more than a year and a half. After undergoing a $30 million renovation for much of 2012, the Statue re-opened on October 28, one day before Sandy arrived in the New York area and once again closed the area down.

Neighboring Ellis Island remains closed. A representative for the National Parks Service said there is no timeline for when Ellis Island will re-open.

In all, Liberty Island and Ellis Island suffered approximately $59 million in damages from the storm.

“Opening by July 4 was something that we were striving for very hard,” John Warren, a spokesman for the Parks Service told USA Today.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO