New York Keeps Statue of Liberty Open During Gov't Shutdown

New York is paying $65,000 a day to keep the Statue of Liberty open, despite the recent government shutdown.

“The Statue of Liberty, America, New York are all about immigration. It’s all about welcoming people. The concept of closing the doors to immigrants is repugnant to the concept of America.” New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo stated. “She’s resting, she deserves it. Sh’s had a stressful few weeks. But she’s going to go back to work tomorrow.

In addition to being an important patriotic symbol, the Stature of Liberty brings in millions in tourism revenue, according to The New York Times. Since the shutdown on Saturday, New York has lost approximately $258,000 in potential earnings from tourists visiting the statue. It’s one of 35 sites in New York that fall under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, and the deal that New York made with the government to reopen the statue will not apply to other parks and sites.

During the government shutdown in 2013, New York paid the Federal Park Service around $250,000 to open the Statue of Liberty for four days.

“We don’t want to lose the income and symbolically, you can shut down the government, but you can’t shut down the Statue of Liberty.” Cuomo stated.