NEW YORK | (Staten Island) New York Wheel | 625 FT

[TechTalkGuy]

I see the NY Wheel as an anchor for Staten Island.
Let's face it, we don't see any skyscraper development happening in Staten Island at the moment, but the NY Wheel might be the catalyst to future development.

[mrnyc]

1000 ton crane begins to arrive:

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf...ings_proj.html

[mrnyc]

hard at work banging out empire outlets in the blizzard this morning

[mrnyc]

the west side of the ferry terminal is now blocked off, so there is no easy way to walk over to the ny wheel site, but from the ferry i believe this is a shot of the four posts that will hold in the ferris wheel struts:

[chris08876]

Empire Outlets:





The Wheel:


Credit: FC

[NYguy]

https://twitter.com/TheNewYorkWheel/...98538307305472

Our large crane is now on site and will go vertical next week. You won't be able to miss it when it rises 460 ft in the air! #onebigwheel

[NYguy]

Slightly older tweet:


https://twitter.com/thenewyorkwheel

Wheel construction workers making #progress on our beer garden. Can you picture yourself enjoying that view of #NYC w/ beer in-hand? We can!

[mrnyc]

3/24/17

[NYguy]

^ Nice to see those outlets coming along. I hadn't realized it was opening this year, though it would be next year with the wheel.


http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf...heo_rossi.html

Staten Island actor Theo Rossi to be Empire Outlets new brand ambassador





By Diane C. Lore
March 27, 2016

Actor and producer Theo Rossi, known for his roles on Netflix's "Marvel's Luke Cage" and FX's "Sons of Anarchy," announced his newest role Monday as brand ambassador for Empire Outlets, the city's first and only retail outlet center, under construction on Staten Island's North Shore waterfront.

Rossi, 41, a Staten Island native who grew up in Oakwood, said he will champion the economic revitalization of the North Shore, and spread the word about Empire Outlets' mix of world-class retail and food and beverage options.

Empire Outlets will include around 100 designer outlet retailers, a 190-room hotel with a rooftop venue and a 1,250-space parking garage, as well as number of restaurants on its 40,000-square-foot food and beverage deck, which offers views of the Manhattan skyline.

Empire Outlets is expected to open in late 2017.

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http://nypost.com/2017/03/27/staten-...ublicity-hunk/

.....Rossi chuckled when asked if he’d be out making sales pitches to fancy retailers.

“I don’t know exactly what the [marketing] plan is, but I’ll do whatever they need to get the word out,” said Rossi, who grew up in the Oakwood neighborhood and still has a place in the borough.

“I sat down with Joe and we said, ‘How can we get more people to come to Staten Island? It can’t just be about Wu Tang Clan. Empire Outlets is an incredible way to get people to come and stay , with the stores, the hotel, the views and the Wheel next door,” Rossi said.

“I’ll do whatever they need to get the word out,” said Rossi, who grew up in the Oakwood neighborhood and still has a borough home.

The outlets are scheduled to open in late 2017. But a source said, “BFC is also considering spring 2018 instead to coincide with the Wheel opening,” a separate project.

[chris08876]

Use mouse to move around. 360 video.

• Video Link

[TechTalkGuy]

In that video, it would make sense to see the workers move the beams attached to a pallet on a forklift.
Just hoping to see something happen this year.

[NYguy]

Twenty-five minutes to Midtown. Nice.


http://www.silive.com/news/2017/04/s...ast_ferry.html

New fast ferry from St. George to Midtown; Oddo reveals deal



BY ANNA SANDERS

A fast ferry would run from St. George to Midtown Manhattan under an agreement with NY Waterway brokered by Borough President James Oddo.

Several aspects of the new amenity haven't been determined yet, including the cost to ride and exactly when the service will launch, as only the framework of the agreement was announced Thursday night.

But the trip to the West 39th Street Ferry Terminal in Midtown would take 25 minutes, roughly the same time the Staten Island Ferry takes to arrive at Whitehall Terminal in downtown Manhattan, according to Borough Hall.

The ferry would run throughout the day from the new dock being built by the NY Wheel and BFC Partners at the St. George terminal. That dock is expected to be complete in about a year.

Those using the service will be able to use NY Waterway's free connecting bus service from the company's Midtown terminal to other nearby destinations, with seven routes between 57th and Canal Streets.

North Shore developers cheered the new service agreement.

"This is big win for Staten Island and it means an even brighter future for the St. George community," Joseph Ferrara, principal of BFC Partners, and developer of the outlets, said in a statement.

Wheel CEO Rich Marin said, "Providing quick, affordable access to midtown is critical to the North Shore reaching its full potential as a neighborhood and a destination."

Oddo said the new service doesn't "negate the city's obligations to our borough," under Mayor Bill de Blasio's so-called "citywide" ferry service.

That is expected to launch this spring, eventually reaching 21 stops in all boroughs, except Staten Island.

Service to Stapleton is part of a proposed phase of the system's roll out that hasn't been funded or scheduled yet.

http://www.silive.com/northshore/ind...in_empire.html

Shake Shack to open in Empire Outlets

Shake Shack -- a modern day "roadside" burger stand known for its use of 100 percent all-natural Angus beef -- will open a 3,865-square-foot restaurant in Empire Outlets, New York City's first outlet mall being built on the St. George waterfront.

The new restaurant will be located alongside 100 designer retailers and steps from the Staten Island Ferry and New York Wheel.

Shake Shack's restaurant at Empire Outlets will include a 947-square-foot outdoor dining area offering panoramic views of the lower Manhattan skyline. The restaurant is expected to open in March 2018, concurrently with the opening of Empire Outlets.

[TechTalkGuy]

Would it be more cost efficient to have a subway line run under the Hudson from Staten Island to Brooklyn, then straight into Manhattan?
That's a compromise that serves three boroughs.
It also provides folks in Brooklyn subway access to the Staten Island Wheel.
Thoughts?

[Astorian]

Originally Posted by TechTalkGuy

Would it be more cost efficient to have a subway line run under the Hudson from Staten Island to Brooklyn, then straight into Manhattan?
That's a compromise that serves three boroughs.
It also provides folks in Brooklyn subway access to the Staten Island Wheel.
Thoughts?

The first and biggest problem with this idea is that Staten Island DOES NOT WANT a subway extension. They are scared of colored people and density, the subway would bring in more of both. Besides, at the moment their drug problem is concentrated mostly among whites, once more colored people move in and fall victim to the same drug problems, the police are finally gonna start mass incarceration and a few poor white people will get caught up in it.

The second problem is that if you run the subway through Brooklyn, you're barely going to save anytime over the ferry. What would be the point of spending billions of dollars for shaving off 5 minutes?

The 3rd problem is where are you going to send the train in Brooklyn? Assuming you use the 4th Ave line in Brooklyn, The Dekalb Ave interchange between the 6th Ave and Broadway lines is already painfully slow, adding more trains to SI would make that interchange a nightmare. Plus, you can't add more than 12 trains per hour to the 4th Ave express trunk, spending billions of dollars for a tunnel that will be limited to 12tph is ridiculous.

If a subway is ever built to Staten Island, it should be a direct connection to Manhattan that can carry 30+ TPH that can branch out all over the island. The city should view it as a long term investment, as they can recoup the costs over 2 decades by no longer subsidizing the ferry. Not to mention the extra tax money they would get from increasing property values. This WILL never happen in our lifetime.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by Astorian

The first and biggest problem with this idea is that Staten Island DOES NOT WANT a subway extension. They are scared of colored people and density, the subway would bring in more of both. Besides, at the moment their drug problem is concentrated mostly among whites, once more colored people move in and fall victim to the same drug problems, the police are finally gonna start mass incarceration and a few poor white people will get caught up in it.

The second problem is that if you run the subway through Brooklyn, you're barely going to save anytime over the ferry. What would be the point of spending billions of dollars for shaving off 5 minutes?

The 3rd problem is where are you going to send the train in Brooklyn? Assuming you use the 4th Ave line in Brooklyn, The Dekalb Ave interchange between the 6th Ave and Broadway lines is already painfully slow, adding more trains to SI would make that interchange a nightmare. Plus, you can't add more than 12 trains per hour to the 4th Ave express trunk, spending billions of dollars for a tunnel that will be limited to 12tph is ridiculous.

If a subway is ever built to Staten Island, it should be a direct connection to Manhattan that can carry 30+ TPH that can branch out all over the island. The city should view it as a long term investment, as they can recoup the costs over 2 decades by no longer subsidizing the ferry. Not to mention the extra tax money they would get from increasing property values. This WILL never happen in our lifetime.

totally agree regarding the brooklyn extension, but what about west? i think sir should be extended along the north shore and over to nj. the light rail in bayonne is anxious to meet it!

[NYguy]

The wheel and the Vessel, going at it. Both scheduled to open next year.



https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/201...rk-wheel-crane

New York Wheel Crane Towers Over Staten Island Skyline




By Nicholas Rizzi
April 18, 2017

The crane building the giant New York Wheel may be the high point of the St. George's skyline right now, but even its monolithic height will eventually be dwarfed by the full size of the new attraction, which is racing to become the tallest observation wheel in the world.

The New York Wheel will stand a whopping 630 feet — a full 170 feet taller than the crane now being used to construct it — when it takes over Staten Island's shoreline later this year.

Crews installed the 460-foot-tall crane at the construction site adjacent to the St. George Ferry Terminal last month, according to the developers. They used a smaller, 380-foot-tall one to build it.

The 1,000-ton crane is capable of lifting 1,350 tons. It will be used to put pieces of the New York Wheel in place, including the 275-foot tall legs, which arrived in Brooklyn in September.

Developers expect to finish construction on the actual wheel in the fall, but test the attraction's safety until April 2018, when the ride is scheduled to open to the public.

[NYguy]

I don't care if it takes 10 years, they better get this build safely and properly. Speaking for myself and all other potential riders.


http://nypost.com/2017/06/25/staten-...ut-of-control/

Staten Island Ferris wheel project is spinning out of control

By Melissa Klein
June 25, 2017

The design team building the 630-foot-high New York Wheel on the borough’s north shore got into a bitter pay dispute with the developer — and walked off the job in late May.

...Court filings revealed other problems threatening to bring the $600 million wheel — which would be the largest in the Western Hemisphere — to a grinding halt. Among them:

- Bad welds on the giant legs that will hold up the wheel have been flagged by city inspectors, delaying ­required approvals.

-The pad upon which the wheel will sit is “defective.”

- A “wrong” attachment between wheel and pad.
 
-Vast cost overruns and “extortionate” billing. The original $300 million price tag has doubled.

...A New York Wheel consultant said in court papers that the city Department of Buildings has yet to issue permits to go forward, a delay he blamed on the choice of manufacturers for the giant legs. The fabricators chosen by Mammoet-Starneth were not on the DOB’s approved list, and inspectors found “nonconformities that required remediation.”

Mammoet-Starneth blames New York Wheel for building a faulty pad to hold the wheel, and in court arguments maintained that there was ­“insufficient soil support and parts that don’t work.”

...A DOB spokesman said its special inspector “identified a minor problem with a few welds” that are in the process of being fixed.

“The developer has honored all of its contractual obligations and is committed to getting this unique project completed to the benefit of all stakeholders, public and private,” said a New York Wheel spokeswoman.

[streetscaper]

^^ This explanation was great!

[streetscaper]

Some new renders from their website













http://newyorkwheel.com/gallery.html

[mrnyc]

yesterday -