By Alcione Gonzalez, CNN

updated 10:34 AM EDT, Tue June 4, 2013

Both islands were hard hit by Superstorm Sandy in October and have been closed since then.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- Days after a senator and a police official raised security concerns, the Interior Department has reversed a National Parks Service plan to screen visitors only after they arrived by ferry at two of New York's landmarks -- Ellis and Liberty islands.

In a letter written to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewel announced the change and requested that a security screening facility be built in Manhattan's Battery Park so visitors will be screened before embarking for the historic islands.

Jewell requested that the city immediately begin getting the permits to build a temporary security screening facility in Manhattan before the July 4th opening weekend for Liberty Island, which is home to the Statue of Liberty.

Both islands were hard hit by Superstorm Sandy in October and have been closed since then. Ellis Island will remain closed as it undergoes extensive repairs.

A National Parks Service spokesman said in a statement that the agency remains committed to implementing a plan that does not compromise the safety of their visitors.

"Safety will continue to be our number one priority as we re-establish a temporary screening facility at Battery Park," said park service spokesman John Warren. "We are prepared to begin work immediately and appreciate the partnership with the City of New York that we will need to allow for a reopening of the Statue on July 4."

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Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island security plan reversed over concerns