THE STATUE OF LIBERTY REOPENS

CORRECTED VERSION

For all those who are eagerly waiting to visit "The Statue of Liberty", good news is that, it is going to reopen on 4th of July. Statue of Liberty was closed for both local and international visitors after the Superstorm Sandy.

Now the Government of The United States has decided to reopen it on the Independence Day for the visitors all over the world.

The interior areas of the Statue (the Crown and Pedestal) were closed to the public on 29^th October 2011, a day after the Statue’s 125^th birthday, for planned maintenance and upgrades to the interior infrastructure. These upgrades were slated to last for a year and the Statue duly opened again a year later on 28^th October 2012.

Liberty Island remained open and accessible to visitors during that whole year when interior work was taking place. However, just one day after that re-opening in late October 2012, Superstorm Sandy arrived in New York City and caused damage to the landing docks for boats. This led to Liberty Island as a whole being closed to visitors. From 4^th July 2013, Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty will re-open to the public for the first time since the end of October 2012.

There will be ferries departing from Battery Park to the Liberty Island starting at 8.30 am till 4.15 pm. People who want to visit the Lady Liberty's crown will have to make an advance booking by Statue Cruises. It can only be made through online reservation system or by phone. Note that tickets are not available at the counter for visitors who want to visit the Lady Liberty's crown.

Apart from visiting the Statue of Liberty, there are many other authentic places to be visited in Manhattan. On lower east side of the Manhattan are the homes of many people who were welcomed by the statue and made their first homes there. Other places to be visited in the Lower East Side of the Manhattan are the Chinatown and Little Italy which represent the rich culture and heritage of the Jewish, the Latin's, the African-American immigrants along with the Dutch and German living styles.

Through the new Tenements, Tastings, and Tales tour you will get to know a lot about their vivid cultures, how they dressed, what they ate and how they lived. This tour will also put an emphasis on how these people are playing an important role in shaping up the modern New York.

Other must see places are Cloth stores operated by the Jewish, Essex St. Market that showcases the Latin culture, The Tenement Museum and many more. This is a great opportunity for all those people who want to explore the roots of Manhattan City, apart from visiting one of the world's most popular monuments, "The Statue of Liberty".