DAZZLERS: Adorable Delilah Leykam, 6 (top), clutches her matching American Girl doll yesterday at the newly reopened Statue of Liberty. Later, fireworks illuminate the night sky over the city, as seen in this dramatic view (above) from Weehawken, NJ. (
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Eight months after Hurricane Sandy engulfed her little island, Lady Liberty was reborn yesterday.
“It’s truly a sense of renewal for New York and for us after Sandy,” said Heather Leykam, 40, of Brooklyn Heights, one of the thousands of visitors who thronged the reopening of the treasured statue after major repairs to Liberty Island’s docks, electrical systems and pumps.
Leykam was with her family, including 6-year-old daughter Delilah, who frolicked on the restored paving stones that ring the statue’s pedestal.
Delilah — who celebrated her birthday yesterday — carried an American Girl doll, and both child and doll wore red-white-and-blue flag ensembles.
“[Delilah] said she thought the torch flame would be real,” said the mom, who had her husband Chris and other kids, Avril, 7, and Finn, 1, in tow.
Boston sheet-metal worker Ron Dapkas, 51, noted of Lady Liberty, “She looks beautiful.
“The storm may have destroyed some walkways and grass, but she stood strong,” he said proudly.
Federal Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell cut the ribbon to officially reopen the island, and thanked the crews that worked “around the clock” to restore the landmark’s site.
“Lady Liberty I want to thank most of all, because she provides a constant reminder of what makes this country great,” the secretary told the cheering crowd.
Mayor Bloomberg called the statue “the heart of what America really is about.”
The storm damage to Liberty and Ellis islands totaled about $77 million. The repairs to both sites include a new, temporary security-screening facility, for use until a permanent, much larger facility is up and running, and tens of thousands of feet of replaced paving stones and railings.
Sod replaced the storm-ravaged lawns, watered by a new irrigation system, and an updated LED lighting system illuminates the statue itself, the National Park Service director said.
Ellis Island remains closed. Meanwhile, parts of Liberty Island are still damaged, including the main dock.
“Of all the damage we suffered in Sandy, and believe me I saw some incredible damage in my home state of New Jersey, none was more of a direct hit for what we stand for as a people in the nation than the damage that was done here,” said another speaker, Sen. Bob Menendez, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“Today, we reopen Liberty Island, and there she stands as proud as ever,” said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ).
“It’s a great day for all of us, and it speaks for our determination and perseverance in the face of adversity.”