Metro

Feds’ plan to move Statue of Liberty security screening puts ferry passengers at risk of terror attack: NYPD

The NYPD yesterday slammed the feds’ new plan to move security screening for Statue of Liberty visitors from Manhattan to Ellis Island, saying it would leave ferry passengers vulnerable to a terror attack.

“The counterterrorism bureau’s concern is that a terrorist could board one of the ferries, unscreened, and detonate a device or open fire as the ferry approaches Ellis Island,” NYPD spokesman Paul Browne told The Post.

“We were just taken by surprise by their announcement.”

The National Park Service announced yesterday that beginning on the Fourth of July, visitors to the Statue of Liberty would board ferries in lower Manhattan or New Jersey, but stop at Ellis Island for security screening.

Liberty Island was severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy and has been closed since, but authorities said this week that the monument will reopen by Independence Day.

The policy since 9/11 called for screening under a tent in Battery Park, but that created waits of up to three hours for the ferry.

The NYPD had been in talks with the Park Service about how to best screen people while also moving them in and out efficiently when the NPS announced its decision, Browne said.

“We are going to talk to the ferry operators about still having screening on the Manhattan side, but maybe also having a reserved ticketing system similar to the one that works very well at the 9/11 memorial,” Browne said.

Ferry operators have said the Ellis Island screening would make the trip easier for visitors.

After the dispute between the NYPD and the Park Service broke out yesterday, the service backed away from the plan, and the two organizations later issued a joint statement promising to work together.

“We share a mutual interest in protecting both the monument and the visitors,” the statement read.

An annual NPS report said 3.7 million people visited the park in 2011.