By Tim Sprinkle
October 31, 2013 4:01 PM
Yahoo News
Who’s afraid of a 62-story Ferris wheel?
Not the New York City Council, which on Wednesday approved a plan to install a 625-foot observation wheel on Staten Island that’s being called one of the tallest in the world. It will be part of a $580 million redevelopment project on the North Shore of the island that will also include an outlet mall and a new hotel.
“The New York Wheel and Empire Outlets will become one of the city’s most popular destinations, drawing millions of visitors every year — not just from the five boroughs and the region, but also nationwide and around the globe,” New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement, calling the vote to approve the plan a “momentous day for Staten Island.”
According to reports, the massive Ferris wheel will offer sweeping views of New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty, with the city’s skyline in the distance. It is expected to draw tourists to the little-visited Staten Island and create as many as 2,000 jobs. Construction is slated to begin next year, with opening day scheduled for 2016.
“This is the biggest thing that ever happened to the North Shore of Staten Island,” New York City Councilwoman Debi Rose told the Staten Island Advance after the council’s vote.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The New York Wheel project slated for Staten Island’s North Shore will get some big bucks from foreign investors in China after receiving approval Monday for a federal green-card job program.
The Wheel will rake in a total of $150 million in foreign investment through a popular federal program known as EB-5, project CEO Rich Marin told the Advance Wednesday.
“There’s nothing about it that isn’t good for us – this is good news for Staten Island,” Marin said. “This is good news for the project. This is good news for everyone.”
EB-5 provides temporary visas for affluent foreigners and their families if they invest at least $500,000 in job-creating enterprises. This can eventually lead to them receiving green cards if their investment creates at least 10 permanent jobs within two years.
The $150 million investment in the Wheel project will come from 300 foreigners living in China, each investing $500,000.
“Their capital is being put to work to help create jobs for Americans,” Marin said. “These are entrepreneurs who make money in China, who want to move here or want their children to go to school here.”
Empire Outlets is set to transform Staten Island’s St. George waterfront, with its spectacular views of Manhattan, New York Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean, into one of New York City’s top tourism destinations. This new project, along with the New York Wheel – New York City’s first-ever retail outlet complex and one of the world’s largest observation wheels – are expected to attract over six million visitors to Staten Island annually, making them among of the City’s top tourism drivers in the coming years.
Empire Outlets, which is being built by BFC Partners, will feature world-class retail, a 190-unit hotel, restaurants and parking. Built next to the St. George Ferry Terminal, the complex will service the two million tourists already riding the Staten Island Ferry each year as well as NYC residents. The New York Wheel will stand 630 feet high, with incomparable views of New York City, its harbors, bridges and the ocean.
Good progress has been made on this project. I think they have already completed sections of the base but nothing of the wheel itself has arrived yet. First they will have to put up the axis and we will then probably assist to the lifting of the entire wheel onto the axis which will be rather spectacular. Each thing in its time. It’s one of the projects that excites me the most in NYC. If you want to follow construction here’s the live cam link The New York Wheel - Construction Camera by EarthCam
