By Gus Saltonstall
Heads turned and questions followed Sunday morning, when a barge carrying a giant statue floated down the Hudson River along the Upper West Side.
“It’s a statue. Of whom? From where? To Where? Why?” one West Side Rag reader wrote in, quizzically.
The Rag found some answers.
The 33-foot statue is of rapper Kid Cudi, who is using the towering version of himself to promote his new album “INSANO,” which was released on Friday. The massive statue appeared suddenly this past week in Paris, France, Long Beach, California, and New York City, according to the Los Angeles Times.
It is unclear if the statue was being tugged to a specific location within the five boroughs, or was meant to exclusively be a waterway form of advertisement. The statue was also spotted on Saturday along the East River.
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I think he should have just had his giant head out there.
Let’s put that in front of AMNH to replace Teddy Roosevelt. Though eventually someone will find a reason to find it offensive as well…
Juan have you read the book “Teddy&Booker T. Washington. By Brian Kilmeade
It is the replacement for the Thomas Jefferson statue that was removed from City Hall.
You’ve got to be Kid-ding me.
Transportation just for advertising should be illegal. This and the trucks with ads and the planes that fly around with ads. If it’s just ads it shouldn’t be allowed. It just creates pollution and congestion.
The 1st Amendment forbids the government to abridge free speech….
It is illegal to carry digital billboards or any other sign with “flashing, intermittent or moving lights” in the NY State’s navigable waters, including the Hudson and East rivers.
I agree. The bright and distracting electronic billboards on top of cabs are slowly taking over the city. We don’t need more light pollution, especially the heinous LED blue light spectrum. I’m so glad I don’t live at street level.
This clearly isn’t just advertising. It’s a statue. It’s art. Even if it’s being utilized for advertising.
That boat does not seem to be causing much congestion? And someone is getting paid a salary to drive the boat. And people were paid to load the statue on the boat. And an artist was paid to create the statue. I’m sure they are happy to have income to feed their families and put roofs over their heads and be contributing members of society.
Maybe find other jobs that better serve the community. The Hudson River is an easy mark. We might look carefully at the growing trend of moving billboards, specifically taxi cabs with bright Led advertising on top.of their roofs. Just what we don’t need: more LED blue light which may be related to macular degeneration. A number of people.are really sensitive to.super bright LED and moving/strobing lighting. (With my history of migraines, I’ll be avoiding a good two block radius of the new pizza place and it’s retina seating lighting that is opening at the Perfectos old location on Broadway and 92nd street.
On a related note and though I’m sure it’s legal, I can see from my home on the Upper West Side, the insanely bright glare from the electronic billboard(s) at the midtown tunnel in New Jersey.
So out of place in an otherwise fairly serene river vista.
And expert art handlers were obviouslyy involved. Another group which benefited. Any idea how much this status weighs>
This kind of logic is scary. You can justify lots of problems with the fact that it was “just someone’s job”. What you do and why you do it are in fact worthy of critique.
If we aren’t self critical about these things, we’ll surely doom ourselves.
Let’s keep things in perspective. EVERYTHING has an environmental impact, both positive and negative. This activity seems to have a minor negative one and Leon’s assessment appears to be spot on.
We all create methane. Why don’t we all just give up. There’s nothing negative here except the majority of these comments
I don’t disagree with you. There do need to be limits. We don’t need the sky filled with planes pulling ads. But the occasional boat with a statue is fine. I was just poking at the typical UWS response that is extreme and completely opposed to change (or capitalism) and ignoring any potential benefits.
Someone’s getting paid so it’s OK to cause pollution and noise and whatever for the sole purpose of advertising someone’s commercial venture? I don’t get that.
People are so conditioned by capitalism that as long as money is being made they’re happy even if it hurts them and society in general.
I wanted to say “Only in New York,” but I guess not.
Ask Stasinos Marine LLC, of Weymouth Mass. where their tug: James Charles (formerly called the Peggy Winslow) took the statue.
The first time I noticed the statue going up the Hudson River, the barge and tugboat were just floating north with the tide. I shot video of the floating up which I thought was quiet quick. I could tell its floating because the wasn’t any water disturbance at the bow of the tugboat and no propeller action at the stern of the tug. Also the barge was going somewhat diagonal like it wasn’t towed. When they came back south you could see the towing action of the tug.
Thank you West Side Rag for using one of my 3 photos submitted !
Who’s Kid Cudi? And who cares?
Maybe The Statue will pay a Daily Fee for Congestion Pricing
Clever marketing. As a result I clicked on the name and listened to his music. That’s what it is all about, right?
Oh . . . my . . . God. JUST when you think they can’t sink any lower (no pun intended) to make themselves stand out from the cacophony . . . they do.
And it usually works.
Another sign of the Disgraceful times we are experiencing.