Flying Wallenda dreams of Niagara Falls walk

The great grandson of "Flying Wallendas" patriarch Karl Wallenda said on Wednesday his planned tightrope walk over Niagara Falls has been his dream since he was a boy.

"If no one showed up -- no cameras, no photos -- I'd still walk that wire," Nik Wallenda, 32, told Reuters. "My dream is to walk into that mist, disappear, and walk out the other side."

At a news conference held at the brink of the American falls, he worked to assuage concerns from Canadian parks officials about his bid to walk 2,000 feet over Niagara Falls between the United States and Canada at a height of 150 feet.

U.S. officials support his plan, with the New York State Legislature recently approving the concept in the form of a bill now awaiting a signature from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

Local government officials on both the U.S. and Canadian borders also support the planned spectacle, largely for the recognition -- and dollars -- it could bring to the area.

The city of Niagara Falls has for years languished despite the natural wonder located a stone's throw from the downtown strip, state officials said.

"The eyes of the world are on us, and that's where they should be -- in Niagara Falls," said State Assemb. John Ceretto (R-Lewiston).

But Canadian officials with the Niagara Parks Commission have called Wallenda's plans a stunt, which is forbidden over the 176-foot gorge separating both countries.

"It's not a stunt, it's an art," Wallenda said. "This is something that our family has almost perfected over 200 years."