ALBANY -- New York will spend $65,000 a day to keep open the Statue of Liberty amid a federal shutdown in Washington.
New York stepped in and kept open the federal park in 2013 during the last shutdown, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday he has reached an agreement with the National Park Service to do the same this time.
The state money will fully fund National Park Service personnel and costs of operations to keep open to visitors.
The park reopened Monday.
Cuomo said the decision is twofold: Lady Liberty is a tourist draw for the city, and it is also a symbol of the state and nation that should never be shuttered.
"I also think, in many ways, the Statue of Liberty is symbolic for what's going on right now in Washington," Cuomo said during a news conference at Battery Park.
"The issue is about immigration and the sense that some people have that this country should close the doors and stop immigration."
According to the National Park Service, 4.5 million people visited Liberty Island in 2016.
Cuomo said the shutdown would deny access to an average of 10,000 visitors to the park daily.
Statue Cruises, which provides ferry rides to the island, said the shutdown already led to a 50 percent to 70 percent drop in trips, putting its 200 jobs at risk if the state didn't step in.
The federal shutdown continued Monday, leaving uncertainty over what federal services would remain available amid the gridlock in Washington.
Cuomo, who is seeking re-election in November and is a prospective presidential candidate in 2020, blasted the federal shutdown.
"In many ways, this shutdown in Washington, to me takes us back to that fundamental concept, which is they are against immigration," Cuomo said.
"They want to close the doors and we want to keep them open."
