West Side Rag
  • TOP NEWS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART & CULTURE
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • ABOUT US
    • OUR STORY
    • CONTRIBUTORS
    • CONTACT
West Side Rag
No Result
View All Result
SUPPORT THE RAG

Search the site

No Result
View All Result
Get WSR FREE in your inbox
SUPPORT THE RAG

1,000 Drones Will Light Up Central Park On Saturday Night: What To Know

October 19, 2023 | 11:23 AM
in ART, NEWS
24
Anonymous photographer via Wikimedia Commons.

By Gus Saltonstall

It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s a drone!

Drones will light up the sky over Central Park on Saturday night as part of an open-air, public-art performance that aims to mimic the flight behavior of starling birds.

The performance, dubbed “Franchise Freedom” and created by the Dutch studio DRIFT, will feature 1,000 drones that fly over Central Park with movements that mimic 10 years of starling flight behavior data.

There will be three 10-minute show times at 7 p.m., 8 p.m., and 9 p.m. Each are free and open to the public.

DRIFT says the best places to watch the light show within Central Park will be at the Bethesda Fountain, Bandshell, Dead Road, Boat Landing, and Lake Overpass. You can check out a map of the best viewing locations on the art studio’s website.

“Franchise Freedom is an aerial drone performance exploring the relationship between man, nature and technology,” reads DRIFT’s description of the drone show. “To create Franchise Freedom, DRIFT translated over 10 years of starling flight behavior research into an especially-developed software that is embedded in the drones.”

There is also an accompanying soundtrack you can listen to during the show available on DRIFT’s website.

It is the largest public-art project in Central Park since “The Gates,” according to the organizers.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by DRIFT (@studio.drift)

To receive WSR’s free email newsletter, click here.

Share this article:
SUPPORT THE RAG
guest

guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

24 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
im10ashus
im10ashus
1 year ago

I’m hoping the weather cooperates!

2
Reply
Sue
Sue
1 year ago

Super creepy.

11
Reply
travelgalnyc
travelgalnyc
1 year ago

I’m sure this will ‘look’ spectacular, but have any precautions been taken to protect the actual live birds that might be harmed by these drones? Not to mention a faulty drone that could drop or fly into the crowds of people. I’m a big supporter of art installations (loved ‘The Gates’ in Central Park years ago, but this one seems potentially risky to wildlife and humans. Hoping for the best!

41
Reply
Peter
Peter
1 year ago

This could have a disastrous affect on migrating birds. Possibly killing many hundreds.
Should take place after migration.

38
Reply
Jen
Jen
1 year ago

Seeing the word “drones” scares me now.

7
Reply
Jay
Jay
1 year ago

Likely to get us used to swarming drones in public places in NYC.

4
Reply
Peter
Peter
1 year ago
Reply to  Jay

From where, Jay? Canada attacking us?

5
Reply
S.A.
S.A.
1 year ago
Reply to  Peter

Adams is cheerleading the NYPD’s plans to deploy drones.

2
Reply
Judy Harris
Judy Harris
1 year ago

Let’s scare the birds and squirrels to show off. The Gates, there was a nightmare that lasted for months.

11
Reply
john
john
1 year ago

why is the restricted area so big?

1
Reply
bird nerd perspective
bird nerd perspective
1 year ago

Hard to know if it’s irony or ignorance that the work celebrates the starling, an invasive species and one of those perfect examples of man manipulating nature to its detriment. Of all the options, why starlings?

12
Reply
Lisa
Lisa
1 year ago

I really hope they’ve taken migrating birds and other wildlife into account to ensure their safety. The birds have enough issues migrating through Manhattan alive with all the window strikes.

21
Reply
Susan Fielding
Susan Fielding
1 year ago

Drift does such an amazing job so just enjoy-lets hope that the weather will cooperate

0
Reply
Concerned Birder
Concerned Birder
1 year ago

According to Birdcast (birdcast.info), co-developed by Cornell University Ornithology, there were more than 500,000 birds that flew over Manhattan during the evening hours last Friday, October 13th. Fall migration is still occurring through mid-November. This drone event will result in the untimely and preventable deaths and injuries of hundreds or thousands of migrating and resident birds. Rather than a drone simulation of migrating birds, it would be more illuminating for Franchise Freedom and its partners, sponsors and followers to cancel this event and instead apply their resources (time, talent, technology and money) in pursuit of the preservation of birds rather than destroying them. The NY Times published an article this week about the detrimental impact of glass buildings to birds – https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/16/climate/new-york-birds-windows.html.

30
Reply
wehstsider
wehstsider
1 year ago

No thank you. Why interfere with actual birds who live in and are migrating through the park?Can we just enjoy nature – what little we have in this city – rather than disrupt it?

11
Reply
rteplow
rteplow
1 year ago

Sounds amazing! Thanks for letting us know, West Side Rag.

I can’t believe people are upset about this. We must be the complainiest neighborhood anywhere.

4
Reply
Ish Kabibble
Ish Kabibble
1 year ago
Reply to  rteplow

Yeah, who cares about other inhabitants of this city?

0
Reply
ACF
ACF
1 year ago

My dog gets totally freaked out by drones – I hope they cancel this event

3
Reply
Mark P
Mark P
1 year ago

I went. From the top of the entrance to Bethesda Fountain at least – which was labeled the “prime viewing area”, , I found it to be very meh….half the time, hidden by trees to the west.

That said, I can’t see how this would be much risk to birds. If it is, can anyone offer actual evidence, as opposed to fearful hypotheses?

0
Reply
John
John
1 year ago

Seems lame to so widely publicize an “public” event with such tiny viewing areas. I went and it was absolutely packed and completely obstructed.

1
Reply
Patrick
Patrick
1 year ago

Well that was a let down. I am wondering if something went wrong. It was cool for about 3 minutes but didnt seem to have much org to it. That was the 9pm show.

A few weeks ago we were in San Francisco and coincidentally saw a drone who over the bay that was pretty cool mimicking different characters.

0
Reply
Tony Adams
Tony Adams
1 year ago

I went to the Bethesda to see this. What a waste of time. It started slightly before 7PM and it was over in about 5 minutes. The drones went up and then they went down. They did not even remotely mimic a murmuration. Huge crowd, but I think maybe a handful of people had an unimpeded view of this failure.

1
Reply
Wendy
Wendy
1 year ago

it was nice but you couldn’t see most of it as the trees were blocking the lights. There were too many people to see it clearly.. The recommended music was only 4 mins. long ,but the display was supposed to be 10 mins. so the music ran out. Kind of a dud.

0
Reply
Patrick
Patrick
1 year ago

While I expected more I should say the artist and those working on it put in a lot of time and lent their creativity. Can you imagine a decade ago hearing about drones creating a light show. And hey there were thousands of people there.

0
Reply

YOU MIGHT LIKE...

Upper West Side Historical Photo Challenge No. 3
NEWS

Upper West Side Historical Photo Challenge No. 3

June 17, 2025 | 8:08 AM
Supporters of Stalwart UWS Arts Center Say It Will Continue Despite Eviction From Church
ART

Supporters of Stalwart UWS Arts Center Say It Will Continue Despite Eviction From Church

June 17, 2025 | 8:02 AM
Previous Post

Here’s the Dish: Fairway 74th Street Cafe’s Classic Chicken Matzoh Ball Soup

Next Post

Grammar Guru Gets ‘Expelled’ from UWS Subway Station

this week's events image
Next Post
Grammar Guru Gets ‘Expelled’ from UWS Subway Station

Grammar Guru Gets 'Expelled' from UWS Subway Station

Updated: Central Park’s Shakespearean Commotion

Updated: Central Park's Shakespearean Commotion

Preview of Dinosaur Playground Renovation Promises More Dinos and Less Flooding

Preview of Dinosaur Playground Renovation Promises More Dinos and Less Flooding

  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • NEWSLETTER
  • WSR MERCH!
  • ADVERTISE
  • EVENTS
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TERMS OF USE
  • SITE MAP
Site design by RLDGROUP

© 2025 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • TOP NEWS
  • THIS WEEK’S EVENTS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART & CULTURE
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • ABOUT
    • OUR STORY
    • CONTRIBUTORS
    • CONTACT US
  • WSR SHOP

© 2025 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.