Security center for Ellis Island, Lady Liberty closed

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) - The security screening center in New Jersey that checks visitors for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island is closed because of structural concerns.

National Park Service spokesman Jerry Willis says there was bowing visible Tuesday in the tent-like structure. The center features airport-style X-ray screening.

Visitors in New Jersey trying to visit the statue or island are being ferried to Lower Manhattan, where they can be screened at a security facility in New York City's Battery Park. Ferries will return to New Jersey.

Officials are trying to come up with a contingency for visitors if the center must remain closed.

Willis says about 100 to 300 passengers take the ferry daily from New Jersey in January compared to 5,000 t0 7,000 in July.

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