Nik Wallenda, the daredevil who successfully walked a tightrope across the Grand Canyon on Sunday night, told viewers on the Discovery Channel that he wanted to do the same in New York City. He had hoped to walk a rope connected to the Chrysler and Empire State buildings, but the city’s police commissioner has shot down that idea.
“I would say no,” NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Monday, the Associated Press reports. “I think it's dangerous.”
Kelly said that the main issue would not by just Wallenda’s safety, but the safety of those on the ground. “Here, there's thousands of New Yorkers who certainly could be put at risk. So I don't think it would be wise in this city,” he explained.
“If he fell into the Grand Canyon, only he'd end up dead and wet,” Kelly’s spokesman Paul Browne told Fox News. “If he fell in Manhattan, God help those below.”
On Sunday, Wallenda walked a quarter mile across the Little Colorado River Gorge on a 2-inch cable. It took him 22 minutes to complete and 13 million people watched the event on the Discovery Channel. He also successfully walked across Niagara Falls in June 2012.
One can understand why the Discovery Channel would like to work with him again, but if Kelly has his way, the next Wallenda special will not be in New York City.
image: YouTube
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