Photo Of The Day: New York City From Staten Island Ferry

by Elizabeth Seward on

I had the privilege of escorting photographer Keith Pennington around New York City last week. During his trip, we embarked on a short journey to Staten Island via the free ferry. As it turns out, this ride provides panoramic views of iconic New York City fixtures, like the Statue of Liberty. I could see the park near my house raising its head above the rest of Brooklyn while we were on the boat. The Verrazano Bridge and the beautiful walkway beneath it were in clear view. The buildings in lower Manhattan and on Governors Island were all visible on this bright and sunny day. Pennington managed to capture much of what was to see in this single shot. If you have a photo you would like to contribute to Photo of The Day, upload it to the Gadling Flickr pool or connect with us on Instagram.

[Photo Credit: Keith Pennington]

#OnTheRoad On Instagram: New York City

by Elizabeth Seward on

Having recently splurged on a cross-country move, my travel budget isn’t bursting at the seams, but my fascination for new sights and experiences remains in tact. With a traveler’s spirit in tow, I’ll be exploring my own city this week, taking the train or driving to some of my favorite NYC destinations and some I’ve yet to visit. I aim to focus on showing you some of the green beauty of spring showcased in a city not known for greenery as well as street art, architecture, food and drink and the general vibrancy of this dense city. Come along for the ride with me as I explore and publish photos from both the nostalgic and the new for me in New York City. Follow along on Instagram here.[Photo Credit: Elizabeth Seward]

Bluewaters Island Project Brings World’s Largest Ferris Wheel To Dubai

by Chris Owen on

The last time we talked about the “world’s largest Ferris wheel,” it was in reference to New York’s proposal to build the tallest wheel along the waterfront in Staten Island. At 625 feet tall, the New York Wheel promises to carry 1,400 passengers at a time, be taller than the High Roller wheel planned for the Las Vegas strip and 84 feet taller the Singapore flyer. Now, Dubai has thrown its hat in the ring with a wheel even bigger and taller.

At a planned height of just over 688 feet, the Dubai Eye will be the tallest in the world and part of the $1.5 billion Bluewaters Island entertainment project.

To be built in stages starting this April, the Bluewaters development will include a variety of venues to be built over the next two years. Boasting panoramic views of Dubai’s coastline, the man-made island will also include retail, residential and entertainment zones in a continuing effort by the emirate to promote Dubai tourism.

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”The Dubai Eye will serve as yet another iconic structure and will distinctively dominate the Dubai skyline,” said Abdullah Al Habbai, Chairman of Dubai’s Meraas Holding, a Dubai-based development company in a statement. “We are confident ‘Bluewaters’ will develop into a key attraction for the UAE, further enhancing Dubai’s status as the preferred global entertainment and retail hub.”

Bluewaters will feature an open-air marketplace circled by dining venues, connected to the mainland by a Disney-like monorail system. Where did the name “Blue Waters” come from? Check this quick video to see:


[Photo Credit – Dubai Media Office]

New York Ferris Wheel To Be Tallest In The World

by Chris Owen on

New York is going after more tourist business in a big way, building the world’s tallest Ferris wheel along the waterfront in Staten Island. To be called the New York Wheel, at 625 feet it will be 5 feet taller than the planned High Roller wheel for the Las Vegas Strip, 84 feet taller than the Singapore Flyer and carry over 1400 passengers at a time.

“The New York Wheel and the retail outlet mall will attract millions of visitors from around the five boroughs and around the world, bringing jobs and private investment to Staten Island,” Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert K. Steel said in a statement. “The New York Wheel will be the newest member of New York’s global tourist attractions.”

The New York Wheel will have 36 capsules, each able to carry up to 40 passengers. Expected to draw 30,000 riders a day during peak season, adding up to 4.5 million visitors per year. At the wheel’s base will be a 100,000-square-foot terminal building, which will house retail, restaurant and theater space, along with exhibitions about New York City history, alternative energy and environmental sustainability.Not far will be Harbor Commons, a 350,000-square-foot retail complex with outlet stores, restaurants and a 200-room hotel with views of the Manhattan skyline.

To be designed by some of the same people that worked on the London Eye, construction is expected to begin in early 2014, with the goal of opening by the end of 2015.

The New York Wheel may not be the tallest wheel in the world; the Singapore Flyer can whisk 1,260 passengers around hourly to see a panorama of three different countries below as we see in this video:




Flickr photo by pchgorman

NYC snow might not stop until mid-May, according to meteorologist

by Elizabeth Seward on

Despite the recent spring snow in NYC, New Yorkers are keeping their heads up, looking forward to warm weather. But one meteorologist is advising New Yorkers not to get their hopes up too soon.

“This recent snowfall may not be the last spring snow shower we see in New York”, says meteorologist, Harvey Cline. Cline has spent nearly the last decade studying the notorious nor’easters. As a lifelong resident of New York City, Cline has devoted his recent years to understanding patterns related to these unique storms so that he, and other meteorologists, can better predict when the storms will hit.

“I have suspicions, which colleagues of mine have supported, that we may see two or possibly three more snow storms in New York before the snow lets up for this season”, says Cline. “I’m not predicting any North American Blizzard of 2006”, assured Cline, “but I think we might see snow within New York City limits as late as mid-May”. I had a chance to discuss the disappointing prediction with some New York residents. The responses I received were varied.

“This is awful, just dreadfully awful”, commented Regina Landers, a 35 year old ice cream shop owner in Park Slope, Brooklyn. “My business depends on warm weather. Nobody wants to come out to my ice cream shop, or any ice cream shop at that, when it’s snowing. I mean, it’s really not funny. My livelihood depends on this, it really does”.

Landers isn’t the only one in this position. In fact, most people in the city seem to be squirming under the pressure of this news. Beer garden bartenders, Botanic Garden landscape artists, Coney Island lifeguards, Fire Island fire dancers, and even regular people living in New York suffer when winter overstays its welcome.

“My family has suffered enough”, said Michael Zito, a 48 year old father of three. Zito recently purchased a home in Jamaica, Queens and he’s unhappy with Bloomberg’s inability to control these spring snow storms. “This is taxing on my home”, said an angered Zito. “It’s hard on my pipes, my roof, on everything. But does the city care? No, ma’am. They don’t care about little ol’ me”.

In contrast to Landers and Zito, some New Yorkers don’t like it hot. Mira Petrov, 19, came to the States from Moscow with her family 5 years ago so that she could pursue her modeling career. Petrov says the warm weather doesn’t “help” her ambitions and that’s she’s happy to have more cold weather than usual this year.

“My love for fashion revolves around clothing. If the sun is always out, why wear clothing? There’s no need for it”, says Petrov, clearly annoyed by those who are annoyed with the spring snow news. “Summer apparel is much more revealing than winter and spring apparel. Think about it. What does a lady wear? A lady wears gorgeous furs and complex layers”, remarked the girl.

I must have seemed dubious because she quickly neutralized her stance in saying, “Now I don’t want it to snow all summer. It would be nice if we have a few months of weather in the 50’s and 60’s, but anything hotter than that is just unnecessary”.

Meanwhile, NYC’s hip are considering other cities.

“It’s not that I don’t love New York”, said Megan Price of Williamsburg, but originally of Akron, Ohio. “But I’m pretty sure I could wait tables at a cool raw food joint in Austin and not be so miserable half of the year”.

John Mark is a painter based out of Long Island City. He’s been in New York for over a decade now and this spring snow prediction seems to be convincing him to “finally” leave.

“Living in NYC seemed so essential 11 years ago”, he explains. “Before Etsy, I mean. But now I have an Etsy and I sell my art on there and quite honestly, I sell much more on Etsy than I ever did in Union Square. And I mean, I could sell to these customers from everywhere. I’m actually really confused about why I’m paying New York rent…”, he trailed off.

“I guess I’ll just stock up on groceries and hole up in my studio”, Mark continued. “And I’ll try to stay positive. The snowflakes here are really gorgeous when they’re falling. Snow in New York is beautiful. Until it hits the ground”.

So brace yourselves, New Yorkers. If there’s any such thing as karma in any form whatsoever at all, you will probably be rewarded for your ongoing hard work despite the dismal weather with a few decent months this summer.