World’s Largest Ferris Wheel May Come to Staten Island

The Singapore Flyer is currently the largest Ferris wheel in the world at 541 ft in Singapore on Sept. 2011. New York City is planning on building a record breaking 600 feet high Ferris wheel on Staten Island, according to reports. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images for SSC)

NEW YORK—A giant Ferris wheel could be a new incentive for visiting Staten Island, according to reports.

Persons familiar with the proposal spoke with several media outlets about the idea, which would have an “observation wheel” lifting riders approximately 600 feet high, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The city’s Economic Development Corporation is “in heavy negotiations” with a company about the wheel, the Staten Island Advance reported. The surrounding 14 acres near or on the waterfront could get upgrades even sooner.

The deal impacts a large amount of people; the Staten Island Ferry carries 2 million tourists annually, the Advance said. The two current largest wheels are the London Eye and the Singapore Flyer. The flyer offers high-class service, including a full butler sky dining experience for $299 a couple—“That pays for two rotations, or about an hourlong ride; and four courses of food with dessert, coffee, and tea served in the capsule,” the Advance reported.

Investors considered putting a 400-foot wheel on Governors Island in 2009, but the deal didn’t go through.

Tom Fox, founder of the New York Water Taxi, was part of the proposal. He told media Staten Island would not be an easy location. “We looked at the Staten Island site when it was offered and decided it really couldn’t justify the investment,” said Fox.

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