10/30/2013
By Ivan Pereira
Staten Island’s next big attraction is one step closer to reality.
The City Council approved the plan Wednesday to create the world’s largest Ferris wheel in the borough by a 45 to 0 vote.
The 625-foot wheel is part of a larger redevelopment package for the St. George Waterfront redevelopment proposal that will create a new hot spot that includes a shopping center, restaurants and an exhibition hall.
“For years Staten Island’s businesses and cultural institutions have been asking our elected officials for a way to get the millions of visitors who ride the Staten Island Ferry out of the terminal and onto Staten Island,” Councilwoman Debi Rose said in a statement. “Staten Island will no longer be the ‘Forgotten Borough.'”
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been a major supporter of the redevelopment and expected to sign the bill into law. Construction is set to begin next year and the wheel, which will be the largest in the world, is set for a 2016 opening.
