NYC mayor announces plans for world's tallest Ferris wheel on Staten Island

They announced the deal...wake me up when it's actually built and running. That's a looong way off, if it ever does become reality. The park in Bayonne that now occupies the site of my first roller coaster would offer spectacular views of the wheel, being directly across the Kill from it. Wonder if they'll allow single riders? :)

*EDIT*..looking more closely, I see it would be on the EAST end of the island...I might still be able to see it from the park in Bayonne, but it wouldn't be directly across the waterway.

By 'The Kill', do you mean Fresh Kills? Just curious.

No, Fresh Kills is a landfill in another area of Staten Island. The "Kill" I referred to is the Kill Van Kull, a waterway that connects Newark Bay with New York Harbor, the Hudson River, and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. It also serves to separate Bayonne (NJ) from Staten Island (NY.) Years ago, Bayonne residents could take the Ferry over to SI.

Incidentally, and this may be an urban legend, the strait was supposedly named for a German explorer of the region who liked to shoot birds for sport. He would shout, "I kill van kull (I kill one gull!") True? Who knows, but it's probably more entertaining than the truth.

Shows you the extent of my geographical knowledge of NYC...

I've always said that Geography for me is a "nightmare" category on Jeopardy! That is, if I ever got on the show (and I AM in the pool) there's a "nightmare" board awaiting me: Geography, Mathematics, Ancient Civilizations, Modern Television, Artists and British Royalty. Suffice to say there's some others, too.

Local geography, I'm okay with.

Is that'n Island? (in british accent :-)..) I heard that was how it got it's name. Anyhow, I've said it before, and I'll say it again. No one goes to Staten Island. . . it's even more unpopular than the Bronx.

Mike Gallagher said:

I've always said that Geography for me is a "nightmare" category on Jeopardy! That is, if I ever got on the show (and I AM in the pool) there's a "nightmare" board awaiting me: Geography, Mathematics, Ancient Civilizations, Modern Television, Artists and British Royalty.

Mine are recent TV, movies in general, royals, and poetry. My 18-month window expired over a year ago, about time to get back into the "contestant pool." I know of at least 5 or 6 people who have made it that far....yet the only one I personally know who's actually made it onto any game show was on....TPIR.

I'm starting to think I'd rather make Wheel....better money, and the competition is...well, less competitive... ;)

I've auditioned for Wheel multiple times, and came extremely close the last time. I was very angry at not being selected for a reason I won't get into. This is the first time I've made it to the Jeopardy pool after taking the test several times. I also made it to the interview phase of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? I saw a high school classmate of mine on Jeopardy several years ago. And worst..my family was invited to appear on Family Feud when I was young. I found that out years later. I was the one who had sent a letter to the show expressing interest. But my dad was sick at the time, so we couldn't go. It's a secret that was kept from me for years. And no, that's not a joke.

Ferris wheels are ruining the skylines of many cities. I hope this fails.

And if by 'ruining' you mean 'dramatically improve and enliven', then you and I are in perfect agreement.

I don't know that I'd say "dramatically improve and enliven," necessarily. "Complement and modernize" are probably the words I'd consider synonymous with "ruin" in this instance.

I see one major draw back. Who wants to pay money for the privilege of seeing all the way to Jersey??

(Sorry, Mike)

This might be interesting for some of you: The World's 10 Tallest Fixed Ferris Wheels:

http://www.weather.com/travel/worlds-tallest-ferris-wheels-20120928?pageno=1

Are some ferris wheels free-rolling?

Is free-rolling how one would describe the Wonder Wheel?
http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&source=mog&hl=en&gl=us&client...ih=559#i=0

I believe that the term "fixed" means a non portable ride..........

Jeph said:

Are some ferris wheels free-rolling?

At least one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_PeQCPq8QA

Lol! That was exactly the imagery I had in my head of a non-fixed ferris wheel, Mike...free-rolling as in: an Intamin model on a bad day.

I was thinking Dutchman's direction at first, but then again, how many 400+ ft portable models are there such that they'd even need to mention "fixed."

Maybe I'm just thinking far too much and being too technical about a ferris wheel story posted on weather.com.

I believe that the tallest portable at this time is a 66 meter Bussnik.

God, I love the amazingly knowledgeable people on this site. :)