Originally aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation‘s short radio doc strand ‘Day 6’ on October 4th 2013.

As part of the government shutdown in the United States this week, all National Parks have been temporarily closed while their “non-essential” employees are furloughed. One of the most notable is the Statue of Liberty, which receives around 4 million visitors per year. Tourists hoping to get a look at Lady Liberty can take a ferry out and circle the statue, but that’s as close as they can get. Day 6 sent New York-based freelancers Olivia Crellin, Annie Waldman and Sven Carlsson to the ferry dock to hear how New Yorkers and tourists are reacting to the shutdown.