The New York Wheel, on the Staten Island shoreline, will be the largest of its kind in the world, creating a major new attraction for travelers on the Staten Island Ferry and others who venture to that borough.
As a young adult, I realized that most of my friends in the New York area had never been to Staten Island, where I’d lived throughout my childhood. So, during a summer living at my parents’ house, I went on a mission to get my friends to visit.
And many did, taking the Staten Island ferry, where I’d pick them up, and then…? I was never sure what to do next. There are definitely attractions there—great walks in the woods, a hidden gem of a Tibetan art museum—but when people say they have no reason to visit Staten Island, I understand what they mean.
I’m not the only one who’s noticed the problem. In recent years, the Staten Island Yankees, a minor-league baseball team, have made their home right near the ferry, which remains the most amazing bargain in the city. And now there are plans to build The New York Wheel, a giant Ferris wheel beside the water across the river from the Manhattan skyline. The project’s website promises that it will “become one of the city’s–and the world’s–great landmark attractions, alongside the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building.” Along with the wheel, there are plans for the creation of New York City’s first outlet mall.
Reminiscent of London’s Eye, the New York Wheel will be about 60 stories high—billed as “the tallest observation wheel in the world”—and will hold a whopping 1,440 people per ride. The Wheel is not slated to be open until April 2018 but there are already reports that it is having a positive effect on development in the area.
During a brief trip to London a few years ago, I considered riding the Eye but never did and kind of regretted it. I am sure my friends would have come out to Staten Island for the Wheel, and I look forward to bringing my kids to it when it finally opens.
Here are a couple of more renderings of what the wheel will look like:
Updated March 2017.
