As the city grapples with rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy, developers are pressing ahead with plans for an ambitious addition to the shoreline of storm-torn Staten Island — the world’s largest Ferris wheel.
“We’re providing some things for the city and for the local community that they would have no other way of getting right now,” said developer Richard Marin, the chief executive of New York Wheel LLC.
“Quite frankly, this borough is extremely lucky that this kind of project is under way.”
Yet some have asked whether it makes sense to push ahead with a 625-foot-tall tourist attraction, set partly in a flood zone, before officials take a comprehensive look at how to build smarter after Sandy.
The storm pushed 3 to 4 feet of seawater onto the site for the wheel and a mall, developers said.
The city Economic Development Corp., which is playing a leading role in the reviews, says it’s “as committed as ever” to the plan.
Mayor Bloomberg envisions the attraction becoming a premier draw, offering vistas of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty to as many as 30,000 riders a day.