Welcome to the ‘Forgotten Borough’

Staten Island. The name always rings a bell, but you can’t quite remember why…or even if you’ve ever been there. Granted, it was on everyone’s lips a few months ago with the incident of the NYPD officer choke-holding and accidentally killing Eric Garner, but aside from that, do you actually know what’s there? Chances are you don’t, but a visit to New York City in the not too distant future will probably involve a trip to Staten Island.

Sometimes referred to as “the Rock” by locals, Staten Island is one of the five boroughs that make up New York, the others being Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. It even crops up unexpectedly in popular culture on occasion; music legends Christina Aguilera and Keith Richards have their roots here and it’s appeared or mentioned in a number of movies including, Godzilla (1998), The Usual Suspects, War of the Worlds (2005) and The Godfather. In fact, Don Corleone’s house was recently put up for sale for $2.89million.

Two of Staten Island’s most prominent landmarks are probably the breathtaking Verrazano-Narrows Bridge – seen in Godzilla (1998) and The Usual Suspects – and the Bayonne Bridge, which gets spectacularly destroyed in War of the Worlds (2005). However, it’s about to get another unmistakable addition very soon, not another bridge no, but instead New York will join the fraternity of other major cities around the world that offer visitors the chance to step inside a glass bubble and slowly rotate to the top of a big bicycle wheel and gaze in awe and wonder at the new elevated view. Yes, Staten Island will soon be home to New York’s new ferris wheel, developers announced Monday.

When completed, the ferris wheel — or the New York Wheel — will tower a ridiculous 630ft above a harbor situated on the northeast side of Staten Island, right next to the Staten Island Yankee’s home, Richmond County Bank Ballpark, and just a few steps from the Staten Island Ferry. A ride will last 38 minutes, and the wheel will hold 1,440 passengers who, besides checking out views of the city from above, can watch a “4D subway ride simulation” of a theoretical Manhattan-to-Staten Island subway line, according to a summary of the project.

An invite-only groundbreaking ceremony for the $230 million project is set for 10th March and the New York Wheel is expected to open for business in early 2017. Currently, the title of world’s tallest ferris wheel is held by the 550ft-tall High Roller at the Linq Hotel & Casio in Las Vegas. In comparison, the London Eye stands at 443ft tall.

In addition to the massive ferris wheel, the development project also includes a 350,000 sq ft outlet mall, Empire Outlets, as well as a 190-room boutique hotel right next door to the wheel. Quite a change for the locals of the area who are used to a more serene pace of life.

I’ve been on both the High Roller and the London Eye and I can honestly say that despite being the shorter of the two, the view from the London Eye over the UK capital is amazing…and the Vegas vista is disappointing to say the least. It’s not even on The Strip. Granted, it offers magnificent views of McCarran airport, which is super if that’s your thing, but don’t expect any unparalleled perspectives of the sights Sin City has to offer, ’cause it’s kinda in the wrong place for that.