Lucy the Elephant hit by federal funding cuts as $500,000 gets pulled from Margate, New Jersey, landmark
A one-of-a-kind New Jersey landmark is the latest to be impacted by cuts to federal funding. Officials who oversee Lucy the Elephant in Margate say $500,000 earmarked for the Jersey shore icon will now not be coming.
Richard Helfant, executive director of Lucy the Elephant, says finding out was devastating.
"What could mean more than a promise from the federal government of the United States? But apparently that doesn't mean so much anymore," Helfant said.
The funding, from congressional-directed spending, was announced by Sen. Cory Booker during an event last August. Helfant says they planned to use it for needed upgrades inside the six-story structure.
"The fire suppression system inside her is 50 years old. The air conditioning and heat are over 50 years old. And they're all being held together now with just glue and scotch tape," said Helfant.
Money would've also been used to repair plaster walls damaged by water, refinish floors inside Lucy and upgrade the alarm system.
The news comes as the federal government has sought to dramatically rein in spending.
In a statement to CBS News Philadelphia on Friday, Booker said, "Congressional Republicans, including New Jersey's own, drafted and passed a budget that cut funding for this New Jersey treasure." Booker also pledged to look for ways to make sure Lucy and the staff "have the resources they need to nurture and care for this special landmark."
But those who oversee and care for Lucy say they can't dwell on the funding loss for too long.
"For us, we're not going to sit back and take it. We've got to find other ways to raise the money because the work has to continue," Helfant said.
Officials are also in the process of tearing down the old gift shop that sits next to Lucy and building a brand new welcome center. Helfant says those projects will continue, and the teardown of the old gift shop is slated for later this month.
To fill that half-a-million-dollar hole, Helfant says they'll look to state and local grants and even possible fundraisers. And he said the public has already rallied around the news. According to Helfant, in the few hours between their Instagram post and speaking with CBS News Philadelphia just after 1 p.m. Friday, more than $1,000 in donations had poured in.
Helfant says it shows just how much Lucy means to so many people across the area.
"There are statues and there are museums and there are other historic sites, but there is only one, giant, six-story elephant in the world. And she belongs to all of us in the Delaware Valley," said Helfant.
