The New York City Council approved plans for a 630-foot observation wheel and outlet mall adjacent to the Staten Island ferry terminal.
"This is a momentous day for Staten Island," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement after Wednesday's vote. The project will draw $580 million in private investment, he said.
Rich Marin, chief executive of New York Wheel LLC, said the massive Ferris wheel, which would provide aerial views of New York Harbor, would eclipse similar structures in London, Singapore and Chicago.
Councilwoman Debi Rose, who represents the St. George neighborhood affected by the project, said the $260 million Empire Outlets mall will involve 100% union labor, which had been a point of contention in negotiations. Empire Outlets is to feature a 1 million square foot, mixed-use retail hub that will also include a 200-room hotel.
Construction for both projects is expected to begin next year and finish in 2016.
According to Rose, the deal includes $51 million of city investment on Staten Island, some of it through the New York City Economic Development Commission. In addition, the city's Department of Transportation will allocate $35 million for redesign of the ferry terminal.
New York State had already awarded an $11.5 million grant to help fund related infrastructure improvements. The city will match that amount, with $3 million of it coming from the office of borough President James Molinaro.
A bill before the City Council calls for expanded service on the ferry to and from lower Manhattan, which the city's Department of Transportation operates. If it passes, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority would have to resynchronize schedules for bus lines that feed into the ferry terminal complex.
"This is the renaissance of the North Shore," said Vincent Ignizio, another councilman from Staten Island.
Neighborhood concerns range from traffic congestion to the disruption of harbor views from hilly areas to reduced water pressure because of hotel use.
