US Government shutdown: Will the Statue of Liberty go dark? Here's what's happening

The United States government officially shut down at 12.01 am Wednesday (October 1), leaving citizens with a lot of questions, including whether the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island will be open or not.

And the answer is yes, both of them will be open during the partial government shutdown, the Department of the Interior announced on Wednesday, following New York Governor Kathy Hochul's refusal to provide state assistance.

“Thanks to the leadership of President Donald Trump both Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty remain open for the enjoyment of the American people,” a spokesperson for the Department of the Interior told The New York Post.

Ahead of the shutdown, Hochul declined to allocate state funds to maintain operations at the Statue of Liberty. “If Lady Liberty’s iconic torch goes dark, it will be thanks to the Washington Republicans who refused common sense and abandoned the people they were elected to represent,” Hochul said in a statement to The New York Post hours before federal funding expired for the first time since the 35-day shutdown in December 2018 and January 2019.

During that previous shutdown, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo utilised state resources to keep the landmark, managed by the National Parks Service, open. “As we’ve done before when Washington’s dysfunction has shut down the govt, New York will step up and ensure the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island remain open for the world to look to for strength and hope during this tumultuous time,” Cuomo, a Democrat, said at that time.

Over 3.7 million people visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island last year, according to the National Park Service. The complex employs 88 permanent employees, 28 seasonal employees and 80 United States Park Police personnel.