Obama to Reopen Lady Liberty’s Crown

Visitors to Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty will once again be able to climb the 354 steps from the base of the Statue of Liberty to the iconic crown that overlooks New York Harbor, the Obama administration is expected to announce Friday.

After Sept. 11, access to the crown was closed as a security measure, along with the rest of the Statue and Liberty Island.

When the island and base of the statue were reopened several years later, the crown remained closed. U.S. Park officials said the narrow spiral stairway first built for worker access was a danger for anyone suffering an injury or other medical event, such as a heart attack.

In addition, a 1999 internal study found that if there were a fire in the pedestal, the interior of the statue would act like a chimney, with smoke suffocating anyone on the stairs.

However, several politicians, including New York Congressman Anthony Weiner have pushed for reopening the crown to visitors, and have proposed a plan that would allow perhaps 10 at a time to make the climb.

Obama's new Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, is expected to approve some version of such a plan in a surprise visit to Liberty Island at 12 p.m. on Friday. A final decision will not be made until officials review of the report due in April, according to a Park Service official.

There is still a concern that with as many as 20,000 visitors to the island on summer weekends, there is a concern such a system will create "bad feelings" by creating "haves and have nots," a park official told NBCNewYork.com.

I am certainly glad they are opening it, but I still have similar worries: