Blue Angels on the LES

(Click photos to enlarge)

There are pigeons and then there are these pigeons. I called them—the Blue Angels of the Lower East Side. They graced the area near the Williamsburg Bridge with uniform acrobatics that added a kind of magic to the air. It was hard to stop watching them, always a challenge and pleasure to photograph them. Then one day I looked up and they weren’t flying anymore—they’re gone! — victims to “gentrification” on the LES. What a pity! How can one of the most historic and visited neighborhoods of NYC really show off its best while evicting some of its best? At least that is what some landlord did. So here is a tribute to those red & white, black & white, magnificent hi-flyers—may they find a well-deserved place to soar.

Here is a poem by poet, Ellen Reiss, published on the Aesthetic Realism Looks at New York City web site, that honors these daring beings.

New York Pigeons
By Ellen Reiss

New York City pigeons are bold.
They peruse the ledgers of dead economies.
They give me critical looks.

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