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  #501  
Old Posted Oct 24, 2018, 5:05 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RobEss View Post
I don't think it's a stretch to declare this project more or less dead, even if the parts have been fabricated. The feasible draw from this was always going to be negligible, and the scheme was premised on the idea that Staten Island would magically develop a tourism industry. Since the adjoining outlet mall has already been completed I have to imagine the wheel will be abandoned forthwith.
No one said it was a stretch to consider it "dead". The developers had said as much. What was ridiculous was to suggests that this project never had a chance to be built, considering it was already under construction and the parts manufactured. Not to mention that these things have gone up all around the world and the country.

But that's all besides the point. The developers have failed to get their financing, and the deBlasio administration perceived this as a development from a prior administration, not something the city needed to get on track. Now he'll get to leave his imprint on whatever gets developed at this site. Probably something with affordable housing.

Whatever the case, we could be looking at years before something is built on this site. First you have to find a proposal, and then likely put it through the lengthy approvals process. A shame really what happened here.



https://www.silive.com/news/2018/10/...hats_next.html

The Wheel flopped. Mr. Mayor: The ball's in your court. (commentary)


Quote:
Well, it's over. The Wheel is dead.

Naysayers will have a field day. I can hear the "I told you so's" already. But let's be honest. Staten Island just cannot get it done.

Before we go on, let us not forget that there is still major development under way on the North Shore with a major outlet mall, fancy residential/retail and a swanky hotel.

But the billion-dollar question -- yep, that was the current estimate on what the Wheel would ultimately cost -- is, what effect will no Wheel have on those developments.
Quote:
Staten Island just can't get it done.

But a money guy named Rich Marin heard of a big idea -- the biggest Ferris wheel in the world -- and thought Staten Island was the spot. The view of Manhattan's stunning skyline and built-in boatloads of tourists made it an no-brainer.

He screamed about millions of riders annually. And he convinced some very deep Manhattan pockets to buy in.

Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg believed. So did outlet developers on one side of the ferry terminal and Lighthouse Point developers on the other.

Current Mayor Bill de Blasio didn't.

Everything went wrong. The construction company that Wheel management hired couldn't handle the job for the price quoted. The cost escalated until it sky rocketed.

The city was never on board from Day One of the de Blasio administration. We heard the NASCAR chant: "Traffic, traffic, traffic."

What did de Blasio's Department of Transportation do to address that? Absolutely nothing.

"We'll let it open and then see what happens," was the plan.
Quote:
"We'll let it open and then see what happens," was the plan.

Finally, the developers with the very deep pockets said, "Enough." Marin was sent on his way and the developers took over, eventually turning to the city to issue bonds to get the Wheel moving again.

Bill de Blasio wouldn't budge. He didn't believe the ridership projections and he thought the price tag at a billion bucks was absurd. He also said the developers went all over New York, from banks to hedge funds, and no one would buy in.

Why should the city, this mayor wanted to know. That was the death blow.

So here was sit: About $400 million in the ground and a pretty nice garage. Too far from the ferry, but more St. George parking nonetheless.

The property is still owned by the city. The mayor promised the city would seek a unique and exciting use for the property if the Wheel flopped.

Well, Bill ... it flopped. What now?


We'll see what happens, but for now this project is declared "dead".
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  #502  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2018, 11:34 PM
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Honestly, there's really probably several way better uses for this particular plot anyway. The observation wheel trend is already becoming a bit tired. Not every city needs to have one, because then they're nothing that exciting anymore.

Fortunately, another developer could very easily come in now and put up something fantastic. After all, the hard part is done - the parking complex has been rebuilt into a bunker of a garage, and to post-Sandy construction standards. Any type of development that would require covering or burying the parking can now sail past a big cost obstacle.

If I had to guess, I would imagine they'll open the outlet mall, and if it is in fact a runaway success, it would justify an expansion to the west. Perhaps a contemporary mixed-use version of a waterfront entertainment village or something, like a "seaport" district. The District Wharf in D.C. comes to mind. One thing is for sure, I wouldn't mind at all if there were a smattering more of SHoP-designed buildings flanking the ferry terminal, or even a marina.
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  #503  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2018, 11:53 AM
mrnyc mrnyc is offline
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anybody wanna buy a wheel? cheep!

https://ny.curbed.com/2018/12/10/181...-parts-auction
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  #504  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2018, 4:49 PM
Skyguy_7 Skyguy_7 is offline
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^ Just in time for Christmas!
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  #505  
Old Posted Feb 19, 2019, 7:38 PM
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  #506  
Old Posted Feb 19, 2019, 10:17 PM
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too bad
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  #507  
Old Posted May 3, 2019, 4:12 AM
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City still has no plans for the languishing New York Wheel site
The lease agreement hasn’t yet been terminated


Quote:
Six months after the New York Wheel was nixed, the city still has no plan for the vacant site.

The NY Wheel has still not terminated its lease agreement with the city, the Staten Island Advance reported. It has accrued financial fees, including $2.3 million in deferred rent payments plus interest.

During an unrelated press conference this week, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the New York Economic Development Corp. is leading planning efforts for the site — but didn’t voice any preference for what he thinks should be planned there.

“It’s a site we can do a lot with for the good of Staten Island and there’s some real interesting ideas whether it should be focused on economic development, job creation, whether it should be public space, or some combination, but the process has really only begun,” de Blasio said.

NYCEDC said it hasn’t put out any request for proposals, the report said.

“I don’t have a personal view,” the mayor said. “Look, I would only say, I want to hear from Staten Island leaders and residents. I think the economy on Staten Island has been growing in some important ways, and it might be an opportunity to foster that growth, for example more tech is a good example, but we really have to hear from the community and the local leaders.”

Before the project was declared dead, the NY Wheel sought financial help from the city and asked the de Blasio administration for non-taxable bonds. The mayor declined, saying the project wasn’t economically viable. It also become one of the biggest EB-5 failures to date.

According to the lease agreement, the rent is $1 million annually, plus interest, and it’s deferred until Nov. 21, 2021. Since the lease is still active, the NY Wheel is still accountable for the deferred rent, the report said. NYCEDC couldn’t give a dollar amount of the penalties already incurred by the NY Wheel.

If and when the lease agreement is terminated, the NY Wheel would still have to pay the city to restore the site to its condition or pay for the completion of the project, according to the report. [SI Advance] — Meenal Vamburkar
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  #508  
Old Posted May 17, 2019, 11:57 PM
ArchGuy1 ArchGuy1 is offline
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Something that I would like to possibly see at the site of the New York Wheel.is a 630 foot observation tower with a rotating cabin similar to the Brighton I360 in Brighton, England.
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  #509  
Old Posted May 22, 2019, 8:54 AM
mrnyc mrnyc is offline
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i walked around the empire outlets mall last week. for what it is, it is very, very nice. i was kind of surprized about that actually. an excellent choice of shops so far. they are still working on some of it, so more to come.

this was mid-day during the week and i immediately noticed that it was indeed very popular with tourists and locals alike. the wheel may be dead, but empire outlets looks to be off to a successful start.










theramin guy was there — quality!

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  #510  
Old Posted May 22, 2019, 12:20 PM
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I'm willing to bet the NY Wheel gets built, by a different operator, because most of the infrastructure is in place.

It would be more expensive to rip out the $300 million in wheel-specific infrastructure than it would be to finish the project. The city is probably trying to find someone who will finish this without needing subsidies.
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  #511  
Old Posted May 23, 2019, 5:51 PM
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^ doubtful, there is no need to rip anything out and its much more likely part-time mayor blaz isn't doing anything. also, even if it did happen someone would have to start over because they sold the wheel off for scrap at an auction in january.

and of course there is a fight over the proceeds -- par for the course with this fiasco:

https://www.silive.com/news/2019/01/...ds-begins.html
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  #512  
Old Posted May 23, 2019, 7:49 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crawford View Post
I'm willing to bet the NY Wheel gets built, by a different operator, because most of the infrastructure is in place.

It would be more expensive to rip out the $300 million in wheel-specific infrastructure than it would be to finish the project. The city is probably trying to find someone who will finish this without needing subsidies.
I hope so - this is a really great idea and would be fantastic to further spur development of that part of Staten Island.

De Sandinista of course doesn't care if there's privately led economic development, and I assume he's not doing anything. Cuomo loves big projects and infrastructure - maybe local S.I. politicians can get him involved to bring a developer back to this?
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  #513  
Old Posted May 28, 2019, 6:07 PM
ArchGuy1 ArchGuy1 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mrnyc View Post
^ doubtful, there is no need to rip anything out and its much more likely part-time mayor blaz isn't doing anything. also, even if it did happen someone would have to start over because they sold the wheel off for scrap at an auction in january.

and of course there is a fight over the proceeds -- par for the course with this fiasco:

https://www.silive.com/news/2019/01/...ds-begins.html
A tower with a rotating cabin similar to the Brighton I360 in Brighton, England would be a better idea.
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  #514  
Old Posted May 29, 2019, 2:59 PM
Crawford Crawford is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mrnyc View Post
^ doubtful, there is no need to rip anything out
There is no need to rip anything out if you're building a wheel. Literally any other project would necessitate ripping out (or dramatically modifying) the existing site, which is a giant platform for the wheel.

This is why a wheel makes the most sense, even if other projects may (in theory) make more economic sense. You already have $300 million in sunk costs for a wheel.
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  #515  
Old Posted May 29, 2019, 3:01 PM
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And as predicted, the wheel is back, but possibly in reduced scope:

Staten Island’s doomed Ferris wheel could be revived in a smaller form
https://ny.curbed.com/2019/5/29/1864...-revived-plans

Sources: Investors trying to partner with large corporation to build smaller NY Wheel
https://www.silive.com/news/2019/05/...-ny-wheel.html

NY1 Exclusive: Failed Observation Wheel on Staten Island Could Get a Second Turn at Success
https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs...-possible-deal
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  #516  
Old Posted May 29, 2019, 5:25 PM
ArchGuy1 ArchGuy1 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crawford View Post
And as predicted, the wheel is back, but possibly in reduced scope:

Staten Island’s doomed Ferris wheel could be revived in a smaller form
https://ny.curbed.com/2019/5/29/1864...-revived-plans

Sources: Investors trying to partner with large corporation to build smaller NY Wheel
https://www.silive.com/news/2019/05/...-ny-wheel.html

NY1 Exclusive: Failed Observation Wheel on Staten Island Could Get a Second Turn at Success
https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs...-possible-deal
It would still be like the 5th tallest in the world scaled down.
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  #517  
Old Posted Jun 10, 2019, 3:41 AM
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NEW YORK|Staten Island Wheel

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  #518  
Old Posted Nov 10, 2019, 6:35 AM
aquablue aquablue is offline
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This wheel was such a waste of money, glad it never took off. Too far for views. Awful location..

Last edited by aquablue; Nov 10, 2019 at 7:54 AM.
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  #519  
Old Posted Dec 31, 2019, 9:37 PM
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I quite liked the design. Too bad...
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  #520  
Old Posted Jul 11, 2020, 2:12 PM
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It looks like Staten Island’s mega Ferris wheel isn’t dead after all

Quote:
Now it looks like the team is taking another crack at the proposal, as Advance/SILive.com has reported that the group of investors behind the New York Wheel are looking to raise something smaller at the same site. Staten Island Borough President James Oddo reportedly confirmed to Advance/SILive.com that the investors are now looking to build a New York Wheel about the size of the London Eye, which is only 443-feet-tall (a sizeable downgrade but still significant for Staten Island).

“A group of Wheel investors is trying to make a bona fide effort to build their own version of the Wheel,” Oddo told Advance/SILive.com. “It would be a wheel closer in size and scope to the London Eye. They have been working to find a contractor and a funding scheme to make this work.”

With much of the infrastructure already partially in place—including a half-built parking garage, four wheel pedestals, and the carcass of a new terminal entrance—it seems like the new New York Wheel would have an advantageous start. Indeed, Oddo is reportedly directing investors to contact the New York City Economic Development Corporation, who oversees the site, and is bullish on the tourism prospects such a wheel could bring.
https://www.archpaper.com/2020/07/is...wheel-back-on/
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