Swimming Cities Confuse Landlubbers

A few of the vessels in the Swimming Cities of the Switchback Sea installation have dropped anchor at Riverside Park South's Pier I, much to the amusement and confusion of some parkgoers.

One reader e-mailed us, saying a pirate ship had arrived. When we went to the pier, one of the ship's captains was explaining what kind of engines some of the boats had (Chevrolet, Volkswagen Rabbit, Mercedes--more details here--another was a paddleboat) and that they were ghost ships that had been around for a hundred years. Naturally, a woman said, "We've been on the Hudson for years, how come we haven't seen you? Where've you been?" The captain had an easy reply, "There's a trap door underneath the water that we go into."

The entire flotilla of seven vessels will be in Long Island City, Queens, at the Deitch Galleries, this Sunday. Read our interview with Swoon, who designed and organized the project.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Arts & Entertainment on September 3, 2008 3:35 PM

Comments [rss]

find

i have never seen that kind of boats in my life.this is first time i see that kind of boats.

swimming

find

i have never seen that kind of boats in my life.this is first time i see that kind of boats.

swimming

Stacy

Sort of like Yael Naim's New Soul video.

WestVillageVintage

@statcher

The Neutrinos were never docked. You don't need CG approval to navigate the Hudson Estuary or to drop anchor off Manhattan. The HRPT appears to own the view from the park and prefers to look at expensive sail boats.

This was pre 9/11. I know there were law suits brought on the Neutrinos' part against the HRPT. I'm not sure of the outcome of those lawsuits.

NannyState

I'm building a pirate Barque to go after these artsy fartsy hipster swine, loot and burn their vessels, rape their cool girlfriends, and slash their throats and throw them into the river.

And I'm doing it for Larry Gagosian.

meowster

Can we go on board in Queens? I want to go on one.

drewo

The Floating Neutrinos boat may have been a victim of the 9/11 cleanup. They placed barges in that area to haul away the refuse from the WTC site.

stacher

NYC Sniper -

I can't speak about the city vs Neutrinos of days yore, but Papa Neutrino is either among the crew of the floatilla or gave guidance on this project. (From what I can read, it was the Hudson River Park Trust that used a private towing company to remove the Neutrinos' rafts, not the city or coast guard that made the move)

Perhaps a difference here is that in both this project and the Miss Rockaway Armada, Swoon and crew have gone ahead and contacted the Coast Guard and given ample time to announce their passing through. In fact, that's all they are doing - passing through, doing performances, as a work of art. I know of no plans to dock for an extended period of time.

ides_of_march

I didn't know they built garbage barges that small.

sinisterteashop

It's all a part of a re-evolutionary process... a very very long one... to reconnect the water ways to American life. It's going to be both positive and negative... especially when business realizes that there's major money to be made from them besides condo views.

drewo

You say Swimming Cities.

I say Future Public Housing.

NYCSniper

Please. It is a shame that the city endorses this shit, when they (especially the parks dept.) consistently shut down other man-made vessels.

See the story of the Floating Neutrinos:

http://www.floatingneutrinos.com/Other%20Rafts/TownHall.htm

http://www.floatingneutrinos.com/Other%20Rafts/demise_of_the_town_hall.htm