自由女神像冠冕有望於7月重新開放

The crown of the Statue of Liberty, the US Monument symbolizing freedom and democracy, may reopen to visitors by the July 4th holiday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Tuesday.

One of the first sights seen by millions of immigrants who arrived in New York harbor in the 19th and 20th centuries, the statue was closed to the public after the September 11, 2001 attacks because of safety concerns.

The museum gallery and observation deck at the landmark's base were reopened to the public in 2004, but access beyond that point remained prohibited.

Salazar said his department is considering implementing a ticketing or lottery system to allow small groups to enter at specific times of the day, similar to crowd control and safety procedures taken at the Washington Monument.

Representative Anthony Weiner, a New York Democrat and leading advocate for reopening the crown, welcomed the possibility.

"I can't think of a better birthday present for our nation. Reopening the crown of lady liberty will restore a quintessential New York and American experience," Weiner said.

The National Park Service closed the crown because access to the top of the statue, which depicts a robed woman holding a torch, is limited to a narrow stairwell with a handrail on one side. In the event of an emergency, there is no quick exit.

"If you put several hundred people in there and there is some kind of event, lots of people could be killed very quickly," Salazar said.

While the number of visitors to Lady Liberty, which the United States received as a gift from France in 1886, has fallen in the past eight years, numbers are rising again.

About 3.2 million people visited the statue in 2007, up from 2.5 million in 2006 but below the 3.6 million in 2000, the park service said.

美國內政部長肯•薩拉查於本週二稱，象徵自由和民主的自由女神像的冠冕部分或將於今年7月4日在美國獨立日當天重新向遊客開放。

在19世紀和20世紀，自由女神像是數百萬外國移民抵達紐約港後首先映入眼簾的景觀之一，但在2001年9•11恐怖襲擊事件後出於安全考慮而對公衆關閉。

位於自由女神像基座部分的博物館畫廊和觀景臺已於2004年重新向公衆開放，但其它部分一直封閉至今。

薩拉查稱，內政部正考慮採取類似於在華盛頓紀念碑實施的控制人流和安保措施，用門票或抽籤的形式允許少量遊客在特定時段進入參觀。

重新開放冠冕的主要提倡者、紐約州民主黨議員安東尼•韋納對此表示歡迎。

韋納說：“這是送給我們國家的最好的生日禮物。重新開放自由女神像的冠冕將重塑紐約和美國曆史的精髓。”

國家公園管理局之所以關閉冠冕部分，是因爲通向雕塑頂部僅有一段狹窄的樓梯，而且樓梯只有一側有扶手，如果遇到緊急狀況也沒有快速疏散口。自由女神像塑造的是一位身着長袍，手擎火把的女性形象。

薩拉查說：“如果允許數百名遊客遊覽，萬一發生什麼事，許多人很快就會喪命。”

儘管參觀自由女神像的遊客人數在過去八年中有所減少，但近來又出現上升趨勢。自由女神像是1886年法國送給美國的禮物。

國家公園管理局稱，2007年自由女神像的參觀人數達320萬，高於2006年的250萬，但低於2000年的360萬人。