even when there is a huge deficit there can still be sense in spending money to make money.
nyc statistics / nycgo.com
if these numbers are even remotely accurate, billions of dollars of revenue is generated each year from tourism in nyc, of which the statue of liberty is prime destination and it represents less than 10% of one years revenue. But this investment, and it is an investment, will benefit over many, many years.
Yes there is woefully underfunded essential services, of that there is no doubt. But these services will never receive the funding they need if the area is not self-sustaining with a vibrant local economy, of which tourism is a large part of.
So i vehemently disagree that this is an example of politicians/bureaucrats throwing away our (or more specifically us citizens) tax dollars. There are plenty of examples of that occurring, i won't argue that, but this is not one of them.