Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island to remain closed through 2012

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island will remain closed through at least the rest of the year, the National Park Service announced Wednesday.

Facilities and infrastructure on both islands, which together make up the Statue of Liberty National Monument, suffered damage in Superstorm Sandy's historic storm surge.

The Statue of Liberty itself, the pedestal, and the base were unharmed, but the storm chewed up a brick walkway, railings, and docks on Liberty Island.

On Ellis Island, the storm damaged exhibits, displaced some fuel oil tanks, beached a U.S. Park Police boat, damaged and uprooted a police trailer, flooded machinery in the basements of the historic hospital and administration buildings, and littered the area with debris.

Crews are cleaning up debris on both islands and have started repair work, the National Park Service said.

A Park Service spokeswoman said no reopening date had been set and won't be announced until at least Jan. 15, 2013.

The service created a Facebook page called NPS Hurricane Sandy Response, which chronicles the damage assessment and recovery to the numerous National Park Service facilities affected by the storm. Parts of the Fire Island National Seashore and the Gateway National Recreation Area suffered significant and some devastating damage in the historic storm.

The closure of the island has resulted in the loss of jobs.  Hundreds of employees of the ferry company that serves the islands, the concessionaire, and other related companies have been laid off.