“One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years” –Thomas Wolfe

In yet, in this reality that quote makes no sense.  Ellis Island belongs to Upper New York ...Ellis Island, in Upper New York Bay, was the gateway for over 12 million immigrants to the U.S. as the United States' busiest immigrant inspection station for over 60 years from 1892 until 1954. Ellis Island was opened January 1, 1892.

While Liberty island surrounded by the waters of Jersey City, New Jersey.  So was Wolfe from somewhere else meaning why is this quote attached to statue of Liberty which is now a guy dressed up in a robe, versus lady liberty?

The model for the Statue of Liberty may not have been sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi's mother, as widely believed, but his brother, Jean-Charles Bartholdi. Elizabeth Mitchell, author of "Liberty's Torch: