New York Wheel: A Massive New Attraction Coming to Staten Island

The New York Wheel, on the Staten Island shoreline, will be the largest of its kind in the world, creating a major new attraction for travelers on the Staten Island Ferry and others who venture to that borough. 

As a young adult, I realized that most of my friends in the New York area had never been to Staten Island, where I’d lived throughout my childhood. So, during a summer living at my parents’ house, I went on a mission to get my friends to visit.

And many did, taking the Staten Island ferry, where I’d pick them up, and then…? I was never sure what to do next. There are definitely attractions there—great walks in the woods, a hidden gem of a Tibetan art museum—but when people say they have no reason to visit Staten Island, I understand what they mean.

I’m not the only one who’s noticed the problem. In recent years, the Staten Island Yankees, a minor-league baseball team, have made their home right near the ferry, which remains the most amazing bargain in the city. And now there are plans to build The New York Wheel, a giant Ferris wheel beside the water across the river from the Manhattan skyline. The project’s website promises that it will “become one of the city’s–and the world’s–great landmark attractions, alongside the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building.” Along with the wheel, there are plans for the creation of New York City’s first outlet mall.