The Statue of Liberty in New York City was able to reopen on Sunday after being closed since Oct. 1 due to the government shutdown. Using state funds, the important landmark is slated to stay open until at least Oct. 17.
All National Parks have been closed due to the shutdown but the Obama administration gave states permission to pay themselves to keep certain places open.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday that New York will pay $61,600 a day to fund Park Service personnel to keep the Statue of Liberty open through Oct.17. If the shutdown is not over by then, there will be further discussions to keep it open longer, the Daily Mail reports.
"We're glad to be up and running to Liberty Island," Statue Cruises marketing director Rafael Abreu said according to the Daily Mail. His ferry transports 7,000 to 10,000 passengers a day to Liberty Island, so his business took a hard hit.
According to National Park Spokesman John Warren, tickets that were bought during the closing time will be honored, however there is limited access to the crown and tourists should double check to see if tickets are available.
In addition to the Statue of Liberty, Grand Canyon National Park opened on Saturday under Arizona state funds.
Arizona opened Grand Canyon National Park on Saturday after the state along with several counterparts agreed to a federal government plan. Officials felt it was important to open as the Grand Canyon sees 18,000 tourists a day, which means $1 for the economy.
Arizona Republican Gov. Jan Brewer said it would take $112,000 to completely reopen the Canyon, so it is open partially as Arizona agreed to pay the Park Service $651,000 to keep the Grand Canyon open for seven days, which comes out to $93,000 a day.
More than 400 national parks, zoos, monument and museums have been closed due to the government shutdown and more than 200,000 park employees have been furloughed.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
