NEW YORK, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Safety issues and not terrorism concerns require the U.S. National Parks Service to keep the Statue of Liberty's crown closed to the public, an official said.
Speaking to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands in New York Tuesday, Daniel Wenk, deputy director of the park service, defended the decision to keep the area off limits, the New York Times reported.
The crown has been closed to the public since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and there have been numerous calls to reopen it since Liberty Island was reopened on Aug. 3, 2004.
"Our primary concerns about public access to the Statue of Liberty’s crown are safety and health concerns, not terrorism," Wenk told the committee.
He said the narrow, winding staircase was originally designed for maintenance workers, and not thousands of tourists.
"A key danger is that once a visitor begins the climb, turning back before reaching the crown is nearly impossible. Each person is blocked by hundreds of people in front and behind," he said.
