August 3, 2007
Submarine-Like Vessel - And 3 Men - Found in Brooklyn
Totally weird: Authorities have found a "make-shift" submarine with three men in it near the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. WABC 7 reports that the men may have been trying to "set sail off Brooklyn."
Right now, police do not believe there was anything terror-related, as a search did not reveal any suspicious materials. There were oxygen tanks, though.
No charges have been filed yet. It seems like one issue is that the sub may have violated the security zone of the Queen Mary 2. The vessel, which is shaped like an orb with a circular hatch, is tied up off Red Hook and can best be seen at Wolcott Street, near the Snapple Warehouse.
From 1010WINS: "The self-propelled submarine was escorted by police and the captain of the ship, from Greenpoint, was issued a Coast Guard violation for operating an unsafe vehicle and violating the security zone around the Queen Mary II." And WCBS 2 is describing the sub as a WWII-replica.
UpdateThere's a Flickr set of the submarine, Adventures with an Egg, that reveals the artist behind the submarine may be self-described artist-patriot Duke Riley. Here's part of his artist's statement:
My work addresses the prospect of residual but forgotten unclaimed frontiers on the edge and inside overdeveloped urban areas, and their unsuspected autonomy. I am interested in the struggle of marginal peoples to sustain independent spaces within all-encompassing societies, the tension between individual and collective behavior, the conflict with institutional power. I pursue an alternative view of hidden borderlands and their inhabitants through drawing, printmaking, mosaic, sculpture, performative interventions, and video structured as complex multimedia installations.As it happens, we even interviewed him two years ago.
Thanks for the tip, Janelle!
Update: WNBC reports that three men were arrested: One was in the submarine, which is actually based on an American Revolution-era sub, and two were in an inflatable boat. The Coast Guard said, "Basically, the vessel was not safe to sail. It had no lights, no flares. It was not registered. Instead of safety violations, this could have turned into a search and rescue."
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People will do anything to escape from New York.
wait... what?
This is going to be good.
so?
"Their intent was not immediately clear." - from the ABC article. I think their intent was pretty damn clear: they wanted to make and ride in their own submarine. Why the hell do we immediately jump to terrorism when someone does something weird?
could be an episode of Mythbusters or something from the History channel. didn't da vinci make a submarine? yeah, he was a terrorist.
These "artists" should be allowed to do what they tried to do and let them drown in their stupidity. If they got near something strategically critical they should have been blown out of the water.
End of "art statement."
The last news I saw about a homemade submarine involved it being filled with several kilos of cocaine and used to try and smuggle the drugs into Miami. I wonder if this is something like that, or just some people wanting to, you know ... build a submarine.
Actually, the very first submarine was built and used here in New York, so it's kinda fitting...
this has been on flickr for a couple weeks:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/keylimecom/sets/72157600904315117/
oh well, if it's been on flckr then it's ok.
This is great news.
Judging from the flikr slide show it doesn't look like there was some evil intent. Maybe they just wanted to get a look at Queen Mary's bum.
This just keeps getting cooler.
Check the flickr pics, seems like your kind of guy, Gothamist:
Duke Riley
That's perfect!
I want to go on a submarine ride through new york harbor.
"And WCBS 2 is describing the sub as a WWII-replica"
The vessel bears a striking resemblance to the "Bushnell Turtle," the first American submarine, invented around 1775 in Connecticut by David Bushnell. That sub was designed as a naval weapon, and it was meant to drill into a ship's hull and plant a keg of powder, which would be detonated by a time fuse.
Umm more like The American Revolutionary War..
Stop sucking Gothamist
"We all drowned in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine....."
That's kinda cool, I wish I knew how to build a submarine.
Hey, 18, have you ever heard of websites updating their information?
Sorry Jen...
I'm a shamless history snob
TERROR! TERROR! TERROR! TERROR! TERROR!
Look out everyone!!!!!
TERROR!!!!
the guy who built the sub, duke riley, is the same guy who was the technical adviser/savior for the grant stoddard article in new york magazine (their summer guide issue). based on that article it seems mr. riley has a history of dramatic "artistic" statements.
-jorduroy
this rocks.
i've met duke, and i'd guess his project was to replicate the original turtle... right down to placing something next to the QM2, non-explosive of course.
while i admire his courage and vision, i haveta think he was dippy if he thinks he could've pulled it off in broad daylight.
course, if artists thought through a lot of their projects, all we'd have left is hallmark cards.........
I wish he had a chance to try it. would of been interesting.
I wonder who dropped the dime on him?
I think Mango the dog dropped the dime on him.... He's alleged to be a very smart dog.
Last summer Duke Riley participated in FNY's Yellow Submarine of Coney Island creek page:
http://www.forgotten-ny.com/YOU'D%20NEVER%20BELIEVE/yellowsub/yellowsub.html
I imagine the experience inspired him...
Whatever his artistic vision encompasses - you have to be slightly loony to try this in this age of terrorism.
Very bad judgement......
The Coast Guard should have fired on them and killed the adventurists. That shows that the US is not ready to deal with potential terrorist attacks.
That someone would attempt this, if not restores, bolsters my faith in the human spirit to try absolutely crazy-ass stuff just for the hell of it.
Crazy-ass stunt divers should wind up dead. There is nothing unique about being a total asshole in these times. The three should have been shot or drown in their own experiment. That would show total commitment on their part.
nice one - attempt to do something creative... no matter how stoopit... equals 'being a total asshole in these times.'
just fucking put a bullet in this country's head already and put it out of its misery, if its future is douchebags like that poster.
the terrorists couldn't have DREAMED of a better bunch of bedwetters than half the people (well, 26% to be exact) in this nation.
#34 if someone wants to take the chance to make what they think is edgy then they should pay the consequences if it goes the wrong way. Personally I would have blown the shits out of the water and let their relatives say it was only an artistic expression of the state of the times.
The times are a changing and if you want to step up to the edge go ahead. I just hope your life insurance is paid up, also your condo maintenance in Williamsburg.
#34 Perhaps you should take a walk on the wild side and see how well you will survive. I never liked people that tried weird and potential threatening conditions on my community. If you tried that stuff out in the country you would end up mounted on a wall at the local biker bar.
that's why I dance my Irish jig whenever a motorcycle gang type dies in a crash.
I dance and dance and dance. oh how I laughed.
how's that for a wild side walk?
does anyone remember the laughter? fa fa fohey.
It should be noted, the USCG is familiar with this "sub". they boarded it before, yep, they went inside of the belly of the beast.
they did warn them to not be around the filthy cruise ship for white trash inhabitants. they couldn't do it because of the currents and no steering system in the "sub".
Poor planning all around. would of been cool if that thing did submerge and navigated NY harbor.
Long live the Turtle.
"walk on the wild side"?????????
All you jerks calling for Dukes head- at least you have something to talk about as you buy your pbr's at barmacy, thinking you're so much smarter "if he tried that in the country..", "personally I would have blown the shits..." have you ever even fired a gun asshole? you are all a bunch of unimagintive pussies. Duke is the shit, and has a much more interesting life than all of you tourists. He built a replica of a civil war submarine for christ's sake, what are you doing this weekend? following Gothamists choice of "what not to miss?...you are all a bunch of losers. I remember Duke telling me his tale of swimming naked from williamsburg to manhattan, when the fuck did any of you do something half as imaginative?...Enjoy your weekends fools, theres pizza to be eaten, and uninterested chicks at Mcarren pool to talk to,
Such an intellectual defense of Duke's art!
This was nothing more than a PR stunt for Riley and it worked brilliantly!
While Gothamist got the story right it is almost embarrassing to watch/hear/read the larger media's reportage. No fact checking, playing up the terrorist angle when there clearly wasn't any threat (hint: the NYPD and CG knew he was going to do this), and basically just being lazy reporters. Really sad.
only in new york.
great story. with all the horror happening lately this is a breath of fresh air!
#40 when was the local media credible anyways?
Dear #36. Hi. I live in 'the country', so I feel free to respond to your claim.
It is an enormous myth that NYC is some sort of primary artistic or cultural mecca, or a capital of reason, precisely because it's populated by so many reactionaries such as yourself. The truth is, art and free expression reign 'out here', and people like Mr. Riley are always welcome. Such acts, by the way, are celebrated in the real manifestations of your hypothetical biker bar. The only people who'd hang his head anywhere are uncreative black shirts like you. Please, stop being such a douche by advocating the destruction of what you choose to misunderstand.
Oh man! So many places to start!
(38)Ok, for all you extremists that think Duke is some sort of artistic savior...insanity is not art! People who wish to create need to not only be gifted, but focused. I'm not saying they all need to be "normal" (e.g. Van Gogh), but spouting esoteric crap that no one truly understands is like claiming to have made new clothes for the emporer!(let's see how many figure that out) In addition, they knew they were violating regulations because they had done it before.
(32)And for the OTHER extremists that say we should just blow them out of the water, just shut up! The right to create is one of the things that makes this country great. I really don't think Bell, Whitney or the Wright brothers should have been blown away, do you? Oh wait, they were pretty extreme thinkers so they were probably dangerous, huh?
(8)Next, the first submarine was not in NYC, it was in the Thames in 1620 by Cornelius van Drebbel. Don't post info that you like the sound of, post info that is accurate and verifiable.
(38)Obviously, the ability to speak unintelligibly and with no other recourse than to use profanity qualifies you as an artist. I'm sure DaVinci would be proud to have the support of an intellect like yours.