According to website Expensive Places, the world’s largest ferris wheel will soon be constructed on Staten Island, New York. It will stand 60 stories (630ft) tall and have 36 capsules that can accommodate 40 passengers each. That means a total of 1440 people can ride on this ferris wheel at one time. Due to be completed by the end of 2015, this attraction will rival the London Eye ferris wheel which is the largest in Europe at 443ft tall. There’s no info on how much this attraction will cost per ride. Looks scary – but fun.
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Meanwhile, a sheikh in Dubai has his city planner drawn and quartered.
As a native Noo Yawka, I am of two minds on this.
First it will provide a much-needed boost to the area around the Staten Island ferry. Right now tourists take the free ferry ride to enjoy the harbor view of downtown Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.
But they often just stay on the ferry for the ride back. There’s nothing to do there. This will encourage people to get off and go up on the Ferris wheel.
Restaurants, souvenir shops, and other businesses will pop up and give the area a boost. (Amazingly some Staten Island residents don’t want this attraction built. But they are mostly the few apartment dwellers in the area who don’t like anyone coming to their neighborhood.)
The other point, though, is I fear the wheel is too far away from lower Manhattan to get the same experience that one gets on the London Eye. I’ve been on the Eye and it’s really interesting to look at the tops of buildings just across the narrow Thames.
In addition, the experience is truly all around the wheel.
But the proposed wheel is too far away from anything interesting and is only populated by the most interesting things on the right. Too many people looking only that way.