Staten Island Ferris Wheel Back From the Dead

With much of the infrastructure for the failed, 630-foot Ferris wheel project partially in place, investors are looking for ways to bring the New York Wheel back to life.

1 minute read

July 12, 2020, 11:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


London, England

The original concept for the New York Wheel was inspired by the London Eye. | QQ7 / Shutterstock

New York Wheel investors are reportedly looking to bring a smaller version of the previously failed New York Wheel to the same St. George neighborhood in Staten Island, according to an article by Jonathan Hilburg.

The New York Wheel originated during the Bloomberg administration, proposing a world-record-setting 630 feet in height. The project died in 2018 after starting construction in 2015, as costs ballooned beyond $1 billion. 

From the ashes of that failure, however, a new version of the project might rise, according to Hilburg:

With much of the foundational work already in place, and with the surrounding development across the 8-acre site still ongoing, New York Wheel LLC was forced to auction off the already-manufactured components of the wheel in January 2019. However, the developer is still paying rent and maintaining security on the city-owned lot.

Hilburg is picking up on news originally reported behind a paywall at Advance/SILive.

Wednesday, July 8, 2020 in The Architect's Newspaper

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