POLL: Will the New York Wheel Revitalize Staten Island?
Though the New York Wheel got its first shipment of crane parts last month, its opening has been pushed back from late 2017 to April of 2018, reports DNAinfo. Construction on the $580 million Staten Island Ferris wheel is still on track to finish up next year, at which time it will resemble the renderings, but “the wheel requires rigorous testing and commissioning that must be conducted to the highest standards,” said its CEO Rich Marin.
This is not the first time the project has been delayed, and it’s also been plagued by financial issues (it went $300 million over budget) and legal battles, but the developers are still optimistic. In fact, they’re projecting that the attraction will be more lucrative than the Empire State Building’s observation deck and bring in more than four million visitors during its first year. But is a giant Ferris wheel enough to revitalize an entire borough, especially the one that’s for so many years been the black sheep of NYC?
RELATED:
