Standing tall in New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty is at once the instantly recognized symbol of New York, of America and of universal human freedom. For decades, these columns have championed Lady Liberty and we do so again today, calling on the federal government, the state government and the city government to act to better the conditions for visitors (be they tourists or locals) to Liberty and Ellis Islands and the Battery.

More than 4 million people a year board the licensed ferries of Statue Cruises to visit Liberty and Ellis, controlled by the National Park Service. Keeping those crowds secure and keeping illegal ticket hawkers away is a priority and must be improved.

The answer is at the foot of Manhattan, the 300-foot Pier A, which is owned by New York City and was handed to the state Battery Park City Authority in 2008 under a 49-year ground lease (with option to renew the arrangement for an additional 50 years to 2107). Pier A must become the embarkation point for the Liberty and Ellis ferries.

The federal NPS and the state BPCA have been negotiating a lease for Pier A and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who oversees the NPS, and Gov. Hochul, who controls the BPCA, must encourage them to get a deal done before the 250th birthday of the U.S. on July 4. Get President Trump involved if it helps. Using the Pier A dock will as well solve the new problem of the tall security fence that some, including Congressman Dan Goldman and Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, have complained blocks the view of the Harbor and the Statue from the park.

There’s also work needed by the city, which is getting rid of the illegal ticket hawkers seeking to trick or even intimidate the gullible to buy tickets for other boats which are barred from landing on Liberty and Ellis. The illegal hawkers must be driven from the Battery, a city park where vending without a permit is forbidden.

In 2019, in response to alarm from these columns and after Alec Baldwin got swindled by the illegal hawkers, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s first deputy mayor, Dean Fuleihan, coordinated an highly effective crackdown on the hawkers, which required the NYPD, Parks Department, Department of Transportation, Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and Economic Development Corp. Fuleihan’s comprehensive plan worked really well and the hawkers melted away.

However, during the post-COVID tenure of Mayor Eric Adams the hawkers returned until his first deputy mayor, Randy Mastro, restored the joint action, which caused the hawkers to cease. But that ended when Adams and Mastro left office in December. Since then the hawkers are back and now Fuleihan, who is again first deputy mayor under Mayor Mamdani, is once again instituting the multi-agency effort to keep the Battery free of illegal hawkers, who gather near the subway entrances at South Ferry and Bowling Green and the plaza in front of Pier A.

The NPS and U.S. Park Police have a large white tent where passengers to Liberty and Ellis have to undergo security screening with magnetometers and x-ray machines. After those people are screened, they need to be kept separate from the general public and thus the tall security fence has been installed that, like the white tent, blocks the views from the park.

Part of the problem is that the seawall is being raised five feet in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy and there’s a lot of construction going on at the Battery, adding even more fencing and blocked views. It all is temporary and Hochul and Burgum and Trump must push to wrap up the Pier A deal.

Pier A, with its 70-foot clock tower, will do away with both the white tent and the tall security fence, opening up the entire edge of the Battery. And with Pier A being used by the NPS, the U.S. Park Police can then join the NYPD and city agencies to help keep away the hawkers. The president, the governor and mayor must work together and get it done for the big 250th birthday party on July 4.