Results tagged “statueofliberty”

There were some initial reports of a parachuter who was at the Liberty State Park at Liberty Island, which piqued our curiosity. The U.S. Parks Police tells us that it wasn't a parachuter but a surfer with a parachute (kite-surfing!), trying to take advantage of today's blustery winds. Apparently the wind died down, so he lost control of the surfboard and ended up at the rocks near where the flags are at the park. The surfer is apparently doing fine and the Liberty State Park Police took over.

If you see a giant V in the sky on Friday, fear not, it's just the big wigs in Hollywood trying to get you to watch a new television show about aliens. Reportedly "The network is mum on where and when the V's will strike, but such places as the Statue of Liberty are under consideration. The skywriting will be done multiple times a day at each site until the series launch." Yes, television people, it is a great idea to "secretly" send a small aircraft spouting out gas over major landmarks in New York City.

      

Thursday and Friday nights, the National Park Service offered a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to visit Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty at twilight as part of National Parks Week NYC. It was the first time in history that both attractions were open at night.

Later this month some special twilight tours will be running to Ellis and Liberty Islands (on the 24th and 25th, respectively). They're being touted as a "once in a lifetime" opportunity, so here's your heads up! "For the first time in the history of Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, both attractions will be open on select nights during National Park Week to the general public for tours. This historic undertaking will offer guests not only the tour, but also a first glimpse of Ken Burns' major new documentary on the history of National Parks of the United States." Park Rangers will also be available for a Q&A and dinner (which includes one beverage) is part of the $29 price. This will sell out soon, so get movin'. Just don't accidentally get locked inside Lady Liberty overnight, like these two girls did in 1904!

The story of the Statue of Liberty replica that was stolen from progressive Ditmas Park cafe Vox Pop has taken a turn for the tasteless. You'll recall that late last month someone absconded with the 8 foot, 200 pound fiberglass statue, which had been stationed outside Vox Pop. At the time, owner Debi Ryan theorized that the theft "was politically motivated," and it seems she was half right. Idiocy would seem to be the other motive, according to this creepy, nonsensical video that was posted on YouTube over the July 4th holiday weekend.

Yesterday, the Statue of Liberty's crown reopened to excited crowds. But the visits were tempered with the reality of climbing 354 steps during a beautiful (and warm!) day: The NY Times reports, "No wonder by the time these huddled masses reached the top of the hot, sticky and narrow staircase, they were indeed yearning to breathe free." One visitor said it was "absolutely awesome!" and "intensely uncomfortable." Anyway, one couple made the most of the heady views—Aaron Weisinger of Walnut Creek, California proposed to girlfriend Erica Breder. Breder said yes, "I had no idea. Even when he got down on one knee, I still didn't know what was going on." Weisinger explained why the holiday was important to the couple—their families immigrated from Eastern Europe, his great-grandparents through Ellis Island and Breder's father came to New York and drove a cab when he arrived from Czechoslovakia. Weisinger said, "The Statue of Liberty symbolizes independence and freedom. It's a pretty unique spot."

       

The Statue of Liberty's crown reopened to the public this morning after being closed down since 9/11, making today possibly the biggest reason to celebrate the Fourth inside Lady Liberty since she turned 100 and reopened from renovations in 1986.

After years of being out of tourists' reach, the Statue of Liberty's crown will reopen tomorrow. Groups of 30 people at time will be able to travel all the way to the top of the landmark, and two of the people in the first group are Aleyna Bartnick and her father Chris. The Merrick 8-year-old, whose mother passed away a year after her birth, is fascinated with the Statue of Liberty and her nanny April Shrader snagged tickets, thanks to two phones and the redial button. Shrader told Newsday, "If I told her I'd gotten Jonas Brothers tickets, she could care less. But when she found out she was going to the Statue of Liberty, she was jumping up and screaming like most kids do for Hannah Montana." Aleyna excitedly said, "I've only seen pictures of it, and I know it's special because it welcomes the people who come to America," and showed off her knowldge—"The seven points on the crown represent the seven continents and the seven seas." Awww. Also: The Daily News had an essay contest, picking five kids (one from each borough, natch) to visit the crown tomorrow—the kids met Rep. Anthony Weiner, who said their essays will be printed in the Congressional Record. Nice!

Early Monday morning someone stole a 200 pound replica of the Statue of Liberty that was bolted outside progressive cafe and bookstore Vox Pop in Ditmas Park, and now the Daily News has picked up the story. It's a nice bit of press for the troubled establishment, which has weathered severe financial storms in recent months—come to think of it, being robbed might not be such a bad publicity stunt for restaurants. Cabrito got lots of exposure when someone stole their goat, and Papacitos recently parlayed a burglary into an announcement about a major expansion. There's nothing indicating Vox Pop orchestrated the heist for free advertising, but owner Debi Ryan sure is at a loss to explain how someone managed to abscond with the 8-foot-tall fiberglass statue, which wouldn't fit in a car. Naturally, she suspects some shadowy right-wing conspiracy: "I have to wonder whether this theft was politically motivated. I mean, we aren't your everyday coffee shop." A "Find Liberty" rally is planned for tomorrow at Vox Pop, where a wide variety of beer, food, and other merchandise will be available for purchase—in solidarity!

In what could be the toughest reservation to book since Momofuku Ko opened, the Statue of Liberty crown, which will be reopened on July 4th for the first time since the 9/11 attacks, will begin accepting reservations starting this Saturday at 10 a.m. Tickets will cost an additional $3 and will be combined with reserved ferry tickets, which are currently $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for children. You can make reservations for up to a year in advance, but competition is going to be intense because the National Park Service is limiting the number of visitors to the crown to ten at a time, with about three groups ascending the crown per hour.

The Statue of Liberty's crown is getting some finishing touches before a grand re-opening on July 4th. It's been closed since 9/11, and now the Daily News' Michael Daly takes a look inside what they dub "New York's attic." The biggest difference for visitors will be the 10 person-at-a-time limit (though previously it was reported that groups of 30 would be allowed), giving you more space and time to enjoy the visit.

The Today Show is broadcasting live from the Statue of Liberty's crown this morning with an exclusive scoop from Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar: For the first time since 9/11, the general public will be allowed up into Lady Liberty's diadem, starting July 4th. Officials hope the news will give a little boost to New York’s tourist industry, but really it's all worth it just to see this goofy video of NBC's morning show hosts gabbing from the crown.

Last July 4th word came out that the Statue of Liberty's crown may have a shot at reopening, after being closed off to the public following 9/11. Now the Daily News reports that, according to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar (who visited the crown in January), the grand reopening could take place on America's 233rd birthday.

After considerable nagging from Representative Anthony Weiner, the federal government has hired a contractor to determine what it will take to reopen the Statue of Liberty's crown, which has been closed since 9/11. The study will cost $150,000, but Weiner, who's running for Mayor in '09, tells the Daily News it will just be a big waste of money if the contractor gets bogged down trying to bring the landmark up to safety and security codes: "This is a good step if it brings the National Park Service to where they need to be to reopen the crown. But if it's just another bureaucratic barrier, then it's not worth the paper it's written on." See, he's already got the hang of this mayor thing – if the data supports your argument, it's good; if not, it's worthless!

Representative Anthony D. Weiner long advocated re-opening the Statue of Liberty's crown, which has been closed since the 9/11 attacks. Partly due to terrorism fears, the National Parks Service also noted the narrow staircase "violates every fire code in the city of New York and the state of New York and the state of New Jersey." However, Weiner blamed the park service for "a failure of creativity" by not solving the issues through renovation and evacuation plans.

WNBC is reporting someone fell at Liberty Island, where the Statue of Liberty is located: "Park Service officials said the worker fell about 20 feet from a cooling tower and into a pit on Liberty Island." The worker was put on a stretcher and lifted from the pit into a helicopter, which will fly the victim to a hospital in NJ.

In January 1931, Modern Mechanics magazine featured daredevils, stuntmen, and others with risky odd jobs. Unsurprisingly, many of them flocked to the city, from Madison Square Garden to the Brooklyn Bridge. One of particular interest is Sig Smith, who once walked around the crown of the Statue of Liberty, blindfolded!

Everybody has heard of the Statue of Liberty, though not many people realize what a huge object it is. They say that a man can crawl out of the statue’s eye. If he should slip through that eye he would drop to certain death at the base, more than 150 feet below.

Continue reading "NYC's Daredevil Past"

     

Base to torch, Lady Liberty is approximately 70' taller than most of the waves surfer Laird Hamilton rides; yesterday when he paddled around her he declared, "The Statue of Liberty is pretty big. I'm glad it didn't fall on me."

Troy Landwehr, a champion cheese carver (who knew there was such a thing?), took four days to create this lovely Lady Liberty out of what started out as a 1,200 pound hunk of aged cheddar.

The above photo is a living replica of the Statue of Liberty, painstakingly recreated with 18,000 people at Camp Dodge in Des Moines, Iowa. The image is from 1918, and is one of many "living photographs" by Arthur Mole and John Thomas, who attempted to "recover the old image of national identity at the very moment when the United States entered the Great War in 1917."