Visitors carrying a torch for Lady Liberty huffed up hundreds of steps to her pinnacle yesterday as the statue was opened to the public for the first time since the Sept. 11 attacks.
YACHT-SEE! RICH FLOAT INTO TOWN
PHOTOS: STATUE OF LIBERTY’S CROWN REOPENS
“It’s fantastic,” said Neil Braun, 30, from Vancouver, Canada, one of the first ticket holders to make the steep, curving ascent to the landmark’s famous green crown.
“To be here on July 4th and be one of the very few who got a ticket, well, I feel really special,” said the 6-foot-4 Braun, who had to climb in a half-crouch to avoid bumping his head.
Just in front of him were Dylan and Brandon Lavoie, from Chateaugay, NY. The brothers zipped up to Lady Liberty’s crown — about 120 feet above ground — and stood in awe once they reached the small metal interior that looks out across New York Harbor.
“I’ve never hauled myself up anything that fast,” said Dylan, 12.
The boys were unfazed by the swaying floor beneath them, which undulated in the breeze.
“It’s solid,” said Brandon, 11, after giving a handrail a cautious shake.
Just visible from the 25 square windows in Lady Liberty’s crown is her torch, the highest point of the statue at 151 feet. The torch has been closed since it was damaged by a saboteur’s bomb in 1916.
The statue was closed to the public after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The base, pedestal and outdoor observation deck were reopened in 2004, but the crown remained off-limits.
The crown stayed shut because the narrow, double-helix staircases could not be safely evacuated in an emergency, the National Parks Service said.
New handrails have since been installed, and only 30 people per hour are allowed up the dark, small staircase. About 250 people were given tickets with crown access yesterday.
“I haven’t been in here myself in the past eight years, so let’s hope I can find the way,” joked park ranger Jamie Keller as he prepared to lead a group on the upward journey.
Democrat Rep. Anthony Weiner, who pushed for years for the crown to be reopened, said it was great to have Lady Liberty back.
“If you look carefully, I think you’ll see her smiling today,” the Congressman said. Joining Weiner at an early-morning ribbon-cutting ceremony were Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Paterson.
Before the general public was allowed on the island yesterday morning, a special tour of the crown was given to seven US servicemen, who also took their oaths of citizenship at the base of the statue.
In another throwback to pre-9/11 New York, the city’s annual Fourth of July fireworks show returned to the West Side for the first time in eight years last night.
The fiery celebration started just after 9 p.m. and stretched for over a mile and half along the Hudson River. Six barges spanning 26 blocks carried 22 tons of pyrotechnics to be shot into the night sky.
gotis@nypost.com