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Cuomo Signs Law Permitting Tightrope Walk Of Niagara Falls
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 24, 2011
Modified Sep 24, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 24, 2011
Modified Sep 24, 2011
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Governor Cuomo doesn't want you buying dinky fireworks, but he's okay with Nik Wallenda crossing Niagara Falls on a tightrope. While vetoing a bill that would have legalized sparklers and other fireworks for five year olds, CityRoom reports that Cuomo signed a bill that excepts Wallenda—the seventh generation of the famous Flying Wallendas—from rules prohibiting stunts on the American side of the falls. Wallenda plans on walking over the falls next summer.
He still has to earn the approval of Canadian officials to walk across their side of the waterfalls, and they've expressed trepidation that his act would hurt Niagara Falls' reputation, whatever that means. Wallenda has said he'd wait until after the Canadian elections to request permission, and they might see things the way the mayor of Niagara Falls does: as a much-needed, if brief, opportunity for tourism revenue. Money makes everything okay!
Since earning the Guiness World Record for Longest Distance Crossed on a Tightrope by Bicycle in 2008, Wallenda has eyed Niagara Falls (as so many barrel-riding maniacs have before him) for his next stunt. "We train very hard under windy conditions," Wallenda, 32, told NPR this summer. "I've actually walked a wire in my backyard with 90-mile-an-hour winds."
But won't the wet wire cause him to slip off? "If you take suede leather and put it on a piece of stee, and put moisture on it, it actually sticks." While Philippe Petit's World Trade Center feat seems scarier, at least he didn't have 6 million cubic feet of water rocketing underneath him. See Wallenda bike his way to a world record below.
Tagged
Albany
circus
feats of skill
fireworks
flying wallendas
governor cuomo
niagara falls
tourism
world records
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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