Cuomo vows to keep Statue of Liberty open amid federal shutdown

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo spoke about the U.S. motto as a way to urge President Trump to end the divisiveness in the country during his State of the State address on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018. Joseph Spector, Albany Bureau

ALBANY – The Statue of Liberty will be staffed by state workers if the federal government doesn’t keep it open during its shutdown, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday.

While the federal government has indicated that parks and monuments could stay open, there was uncertainty how that would work.

Cuomo said the state would step in — as it did during the last federal shutdown in 2013.

"I’m volunteering that the state will pay to keep the Statue of Liberty open because it’s the symbol of our nation," Cuomo told reporters after speaking at the Women's March in Manhattan. 

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Federal officials indicated that Saturday's shutdown of federal government amid a budget stalemate in Congress should not lead to the closure of monuments and parts of most national parks, USA Today reported.

But the Washington Post reported that it was uncertain what parts of the federal government would continue to operate and what would be shuttered during the gridlock.

Visitors on Saturday found boat trips to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island were canceled, the New York Post reported. It reported that $250,000 in state money was spent in 2013 to reopen Liberty Island during the last shutdown.

Cuomo, a Democrat, said the state would again fund operations there.

"How do you close down the Statue of Liberty? It is a symbol of New York," he said. 

"It’s a symbol of America, and especially into today’s environment when the federal government is trying to close down the Statue of Liberty, in my opinion — when they try to kick out immigrants, when they try to deport Dreamers."

So, he added, "The federal government has tried to close it down symbolically. We want to keep it open literally."

Cuomo, who is seeking a third term and is a potential presidential candidate in 2020, said it was also important to keep the Statue of Liberty open because tourists already in New York were planning to visit the site.

"Many of them were here already, and that was part of their trip. So the cost is justified, just from a tourism point of view," he said.

"But also the symbolism is important. You are not closing down the Statue of Liberty.

"As soon as we can get it done, we will."