October 6, 2009, 5:57 pm
The National Park Service has reset its sights on a new hub for tourists headed from Manhattan to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
For several years, crowds have clogged the waterfront promenade in Battery Park while they wait to clear security and board ferries to the monuments in the harbor. The imposition has been compounded since 9/11 by the large tents that house the screening checkpoints and block views of the statue.
The park service had planned to move the screening and boarding operations to Pier A, a dilapidated structure at the northern edge of Battery Park. But now, officials have a different destination in mind. They hope to move the whole process, including ticketing, to the site of the Coast Guard building tucked into the southern tip of the park.
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