Scorsese joins campaign to reopen Statue of Liberty

Martin Scorsese offered his moviemaking talent today to a campaign to reopen the Statue of Liberty to the public.

The “Gangs of New York” director will produce and narrate a television documentary on Lady Liberty to air in January, as part of an effort to raise money for new security measures.

The federal government has spent millions on upgrades, but about 5 million in work is necessary before visitors can climb the 45-metre (151-foot) -high statue.

At a news conference at the edge of New York Harbour across from the Statue of Liberty, Scorsese said he “had an immediate emotional response” when he was asked to create the documentary. He said his Italian ancestors sailed past the statue on their way to Ellis Island, and he hoped his documentary would be “a reminder and a promise” of America’s democracy.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who joined Scorsese, invoked the statue’s symbolism.

“Many of America’s and New York’s sons and daughters are around the world fighting for the freedoms that the Statue of Liberty stands for,” Bloomberg said.

“They’re continuing a war that started only a few blocks from here. The reopening of the Statue of Liberty is another way to show that we are going to win the war and that New York will always remain the world’s second home.”

The Statue of Liberty National Monument, a 23-hectare (58-acre) island in New York Harbour, was closed to the public immediately after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The island was reopened in December 2001, after airport-type metal detectors were installed to screen visitors boarding the ferry from lower Manhattan. The statue itself has remained closed.

Planned upgrades include fire and emergency notification systems and more exits from the monument.

Once security improvements are made, the National Park Service must ask Interior Secretary Gale Norton for permission to reopen the statue to visitors. No timetable has been set.

Today American Express pledged at least 3 million (£1,770,000) to The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, which is overseeing the project. After the terrorist attacks, the company’s offices in the World Financial Centre were vacated for nine months. Folgers also has pledged funding for the campaign.