On Saturday night, 2,000 pigeons affixed with LED lights were released from the Brooklyn Navy Yard and took flight above the East River.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFIGNpAAA5B/?tagged=flybynight
The event was called Fly By Night and it was the work of Greenpoint artist Duke Riley.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFLx5csIaBR/?tagged=flybynight
The piece was commissioned by arts organization Creative Time and the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
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Riley also has a major piece on display right now at the Queens Museum called That’s What She Said.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFK-5geTZDF/?tagged=flybynight
Fly By Night will run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at dusk for the next five weeks.
On his Instagram, Riley said the Brooklyn Navy Yard holds a special place in the pigeon lore. In the 1870s, Cob Dock at the Navy Yard was the site of the U.S. military’s largest pigeon coop. During the years of World War II the U.S. Army Pigeon Service had more than 50,000 of the lil guys delivering wartime messages.
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Riley is also the owner of East River Tattoo.
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“The beauty of 2,000 pigeons flying over the East River celebrates the intersection of nature and the cityscape, and a species that is all too often misunderstood,” Riley said in a statement.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFLD_tjovFm/?tagged=flybynight
The pigeons are held on a decommissioned military ship called the Baylander, docked at the Navy Yard.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFLmMaEI40b/?tagged=flybynight
