STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Despite the delay of the NY Wheel's completion after firing its designer and builder, Empire Outlets says it's still opening in March.
Initially, New York City's first outlet mall -- a companion project to the NY Wheel -- was scheduled to open on Black Friday in 2017. But BFC Partners, the Empire Outlets developer, said it was pushing back its opening to March 2018 to better coincide with the April launch of the NY Wheel -- which was also originally scheduled to open this year.
"The New York Wheel will surely move forward as part of the revitalization of Staten Island's North Shore," said Sam Spokony, an Empire Outlets spokesman.
"We know the developers and investors behind the Wheel and we have full confidence in their ability to make that vision a reality and overcome any setbacks in the process," he added.
However, after initiating a high-stakes legal battle over project delays and work payments, the New York Wheel's developer has fired the project's designer and builder, and expects to incur additional costs, which could potentially jeopardize the completion of the planned $580-million tourist attraction.
The Wheel project, which started in May 2015, has been plagued with a series a setbacks and is now indefinitely delayed.
EMPIRE OUTLETS STOP WORK ORDER LIFTED
Empire Outlets was recently slapped with a stop work order from the city Buildings Department (DOB) for construction site violations.
The stop work order halted work at 55 B Richmond Terrace -- one of two addresses that make up the Empire Outlets site -- on July 6 after city inspectors observed several issues, including a missing section of the required construction fence, according to DOB records.
According to the Buildings Department website, the stop work order was partially lifted on Wednesday. After a Buildings Department inspection of the site was conducted, it found that most of the violating conditions had been corrected, and some work could safely resume, according to the DOB.
The partial stop work order still in effect doesn't allow work to be performed in a few areas of the site until the contractor fixes the remaining issues and schedules another Buildings Department inspection, according to DOB.
In addition, BFC Partners has paid a fine of $10,000 that was associated with a violation issued in November, according to the Buildings Department.
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