NEW YORK — It’s crowded. It’s hot. You have to climb hundreds of steps to get there. And throngs of people can’t wait to visit.
Unfortunately, many will have to. Tickets sold out fast for the July Fourth reopening of the Statue of Liberty’s crown, closed since shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Aaron Weisinger, a 26-year-old from Walnut Creek, Calif., was one of the lucky ones. He will be part of the first group of tourists in eight years to climb the 354 steps, 146 of them up a narrow spiral staircase, to stand atop the statue’s head and peer from under the spikes of her crown.
“The statue is very powerful. It symbolizes liberty and freedom,” said Weisinger, whose great-grandparents met Lady Liberty’s gaze as they passed through Ellis Island from Eastern Europe.
In May, the Obama administration announced that the crown would once again welcome visitors. Starting Saturday, 30 people an hour will be allowed into the crown, and they will be brought up in groups of 10, guided by park rangers along the way.
New handrails have been installed to help with the climb. Bags, both big and small, are not allowed. Only cameras and cellphones are acceptable. The National Park Service said the crown had remained closed since 9/11 because the narrow, double-helix staircases could not be safely evacuated in an emergency.
