Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island closed over coronavirus
Lady Liberty is the latest victim of coronavirus.
Huddled masses yearning to breathe free amid the viral outbreak won’t be able to do so at the Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island — as both have been temporarily closed “effective immediately” over concerns about the spread of contagion, the National Park Service announced Monday morning.
Boat tours of the two islands were still available for about 30 tourists who showed up at Battery Park late Monday morning. Ticket hawkers were out as usual.
Ardit Zielinski, 25, of Minnesota, who was getting on one of the boat rides with his girlfriend, called the shutdown of Lady Liberty “a very sad day for the country.
“It’s a symbol of America,” Zielinski said. “It shows the world what we stand for… liberty, freedom, all that.”
Tiana Castellano, 31, of Queens, who was about to get on the boat ride called the closure “something out of a movie.”
“It seems fake,” she said. “You associate certain things with New York and America and just to hear that the Statue of Liberty is closing is jarring.”
George Dymond, 36, and Karol Dymond, 34, from Seattle, Washington — an area hard-hit by the deadly bug — said the situation is “nerve-racking,” but they are happy just to take the boat ride.
“We thought it would be cool to go to Ellis Island because I have family who came through there, we think,” George said.
“I know it’s important that everything has got to shut down for a little while, so we just want to enjoy what we can for now,” he added. “It is what it is.”
Ann Stuckey, 46, who was getting on a Staten Island ferry nearby said that the closures are simply “a sign of the times — how serious it is.”
“I didn’t think [the coronavirus] was that serious when the news first started talking about it,” she said. “But you hear about people dying and the museums closing and now the Statue of Liberty….It’s an icon.”
Pablo Correa, 27, of Buffalo, said he was visiting family in town and checked out the scene for himself in hopes of bringing his daughter tomorrow.
“She was really excited so it’s frustrating,” he said. “She’s been talking about it all week. The whole world is coming apart, so it doesn’t surprise me.”
The two landmarks join the growing list of others nationwide that have been closed amid the outbreak, including the Washington Monument and Alcatraz.
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum in Manhattan was shut down Friday amid the pandemic, and multiple other prestigious Big Apple institutions — including museums, libraries and concert halls — have also been shuttered.
The parks service urged visitors to call 877-523-9849 or visit http://www.statuecruises.com/refunds for refund info.