Statue of Liberty crown six-month visitor total: 32,609
In the first six months since the Statue of Liberty’s crown was reopened to the public with new strict security, 32,609 people bought tickets to climb the 354 steps to the top in 2009, according to Statue Cruises, the only ferry company authorized to take visitors to the island.
Closed since Sept. 11, 2001, the crown reopend July 4, 2009 with new procedures that allow only 30 people per hour to climb up the narrow double-helix staircase, which was criticized as a firetrap even before the 2001 terror attacks.
For the full 12 months of 2009, Liberty and Ellis islands racked up a total visitation number of 3,829,710, Statue Cruises spokesperson Tegan Firth told NewYorkology by e-mail today.
Severe weather interruped service on three days. It was snow on March 2 and Dec. 20; extreme heat closed the crown Aug. 17.
Of all the tickets sold, a mere 10 percent were online, Firth said. The bulk, 78 percent were walk-ups while 12 percent were sold through the call center.
Time-specific crown tickets must be purchased in advance. In the summer, they sold out months in advance but currently January tickets are still there for the taking.
The $12 Statue Cruises ticket covers the ferry ride to both Ellis and Liberty islands. Both are operated by the National Park Service and have no admission fee per se, except there is a $3 charge for crown access (which can only be purchased as part of the ferry ticket package.)
The Statue Cruises boats made 6,267 New York departures in 2009, and 3,835 trips from New Jersey.
Here’s how it looked July 5, 2009:
Picture and video credit: Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.
