Relighting the Lamp - NYTimes.com The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy, are scheduled to reopen on July 4, in time for Independence Day fireworks. As before the storm, visitors will be screened in Lower Manhattan, a reversal of the National Park Service's plan to begin letting visitors board boats and be checked later on Ellis Island. That plan came under attack after Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York warned it could leave the statue vulnerable to a terrorist attack.