Source: buffalonews.com
Tightrope walker gets OK to cross Niagara Falls
June 22, 2011, 3:47 PM
ALBANY — The walk is on — at least as far state legislators are concerned.
It may be rare for the Legislature to OK something that legitimately can be called death-defying, but final approval was given Wednesday permitting a member of the legendary Flying Wallendas to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope.
More than 150 years after the “Great Blondin” first walked across the gorge on a tightwire, Nik Wallenda has gotten legislative approval to bypass a longtime state ban on stunts at the Falls to become the first person to try to legally walk a tightrope over the river since 1910.
The measure, which passed the Senate last week and was approved today by the Assembly, says a permit specifically for Wallenda is good for one year, though lawmakers say believe he could make the walk this fall as part of his new Discovery Channel show “Life on a Wire.”(…more)