http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf...pleased_w.html
Staten Islanders are pleased with up-front discussions about New York Wheel
By Jillian Jorgensen
December 06, 2012
Quote:
New York Wheel developer Rich Marin wants Staten Islanders to know he's serious about listening to their concerns and suggestions. At a scoping meeting last month, Frizzi Linck suggested that Marin put in a playground where she might bring her baby. Wednesday night, at a St. George Civic Association meeting that Ms. Linck also attended, Marin said the design has been changed to incorporate a large, stimulating play area to be built into the hillside near Nicholas Street. "That's the kind of attention we're trying to pay to the local community," he said.
Marin, along with Don Capoccia of BFC Partners, the company developing an adjacent outlet shopping mall dubbed Harbor Commons, once again presented plans to a Staten Island audience yesterday at the Civic Association meeting, which about 135 people attended. And while many, including association land use chair David Goldfarb, haven't made up their minds on the project -- especially in the wake of Sandy's coastal flooding -- Goldfarb was pleased with the developers' responsiveness. "Every time they come, they seem to have responded to questions we asked before," Goldfarb said.
One big question the association and others raised at the scoping hearing last month was how the site would weather a big storm -- and Marin and Capoccia came prepared to discuss it. "We take this issue very seriously," Marin said. Marin said the wheel would be built to withstand a Category 3 hurricane, or sustained winds of 129 mph -- the standard to which it would have to be built in Hurricane Alley in Florida. The last category 3 hurricane hit New York City in 1938, and the city has never seen a category 4 or 5 storm. "There is no way to build something that will withstand a force five hurricane," Marin said. "I assure you, if we have a force five hurricane, it will damage the wheel in some way."
In the event of a rare category five storm, the wheel would likely crack or snap at the corner or the rim and fold over onto itself as the crane in Manhattan did during Sandy. As for storm surge, Marin said the wheel would be designed with it in mind, 10 feet above the flood plain. The site would be built to accept water, which would be funneled into cisterns and treated before going back into the harbor. All the wheel's mechanicals would be built up high, where allowable, and would be "bathtubbed" elsewhere.
"I cannot answer the question of what happens if a tanker comes on shore, except to say if a tanker comes up on the shore and hits the wheel, it will probably damage the wheel," Marin said, adding he can't say what happens if a meteor hits it, either.
Dana Getman of SHoP Architects, which is designing the mall for BFC, said they, too, are taking storm precautions. "We're taking precaution with the retail fronting on the lowest level," she said, but added it's more attractive and open than having parking front the water. All critical utilities would be at Richmond Terrace level or higher, 30 feet above Sandy's surge, she said.
The audience was limited to questions -- not comments for or against the wheel. Some focused on views from Richmond Terrace, which would be compromised: The wheel's parking structure comes up above Richmond Terrace, blocking the view from the street. But the public will have access to its green roof, and will have a view from atop it, Marin said. The height is necessary to allow for the required amount of parking, he said. An 11-story hotel on the mall site, too, would block some views.
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