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

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by chris08876

The holidays could provide extra revenue for the city wheel. Increasing prices for 4th of July or any other major fireworks events.

Think of the atmosphere around Christmas time...



http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/08/staten_island_outlet_mall_will.html

Empire Outlet developers says they'll deliver jobs for Staten Island





By Ryan Lavis
August 01, 2013

The developers of Empire Outlets will have more than just Staten Island shoppers in mind when they bring New York City's first outlet mall to the borough. Set to accompany the New York Wheel, the St. George site also will dedicate a portion of its employment opportunities to local contractors and employees.

.....infrastructure overhaul includes some new specs from the site's original layout. Developers of Empire Outlets have redesigned the Waterfront Esplanade, reversing the way it's currently configured. Rather than have pedestrians cross a service road to access the esplanade, developers will push the walkway outward. This way, Capoccia said, any vehicular pedestrian conflict will be eliminated.

"The City Planning Commission wanted it a certain way, and the (NYC Department of Transportation) wanted to execute it exactly the opposite way, so we were kind of like monkey in the middle for a while," said Capoccia.

"The only resolution was to agree to remove the existing waterfront and road as it currently exists and basically rebuild it in the reverse locations in order to avoid the pedestrian vehicular conflict, which we thought with millions of new people here would be a very dangerous situation."

The site's layout will also have a more open flow to it than before.

Developers redesigned the layout to run continuously from Richmond Terrace. "Where there's currently a 32-foot drop, there's now connectivity through these visual corridors direct from Richmond Terrace," said Capoccia. There will be continuous pedestrian connectivity between the St. George ferry terminal, the waterfront and the St. George business district.

Parking has also undergone an overhaul. Approximately 1,250 parking spots have been placed underground, with vehicle access spots along Wall Street and multiple pedestrian entry points throughout the site. Wall Street will be reconfigured to include a "kiss-and-ride" traffic circle that will lead back out to Richmond Terrace, or down Bank Street toward Jersey Street.

Developers are also pushing to dedicate a portion of the estimated 1,000 permanent jobs for Islanders. Capoccia said that they are finalizing an arrangement with NYC Business Solutions to assist in the recruitment and vetting of thousands of borough residents to help prepare them for these employment opportunities.

As for which stores will actually inhabit this outlet mall, Capoccia and his team won't release any new additions for at least another month. But that doesn't mean they're not trying to get the borough excited. "Within a few months we'll be able to announce major, very attractive retailers," said James Prendamano, broker for Casandra Properties. "We're also focusing on bringing retail opportunities to the Island that are not here already."