CUNY Interactive Journalism

At the The 25th Annual Coney Island Tattoo and Motorcycle Show, ink, engines and outlandish performances come together for a celebration of alternative culture.

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With a piercing whistle Michael Alicea sends his flock airborne, filling the air above his Bushwick roof with hundreds of flapping pigeons. The birds fly in unison, cutting a wide arc through the sky as they circle above Alicea’s two large pigeon coops. It’s a hot Sunday morning and in the distance other pigeon keepers have let their birds take flight. Way out, over the Williamsburg skyline, a flock of pigeons are circling another roof. With the sunlight glimmering off their feathers, the pigeons look like silver darts as they swoop and twist through the air.

Alicea hopes some of those pigeons will drift away from their coops and fly over his roof. He has his birds ready. They’ll surround the lost pigeon, closing ranks and confusing the bird until it thinks it’s one of the flock. Alicea will then call his pigeons down to the roof and grab the rival bird, locking it in his coop. The bird’s ankle band — every pigeon keeper has their own color — will be hung alongside dozens of others strung up like tiny plastic trophies on a pigeon coop wall.

Welcome to the world of tiplets, homers and pigeon mumblers. Welcome to the Brooklyn pigeon wars.

The Pigeon Wars of Brooklyn from Jonathan Vit on Vimeo.

An unexpected tonado left parts of Queens in ruins Thursday night as high speed winds brought down trees and sent debris flying. Houses and cars in the neighborhood sustained significant damage and thousands were left without power.

Coney Island USA hosted its 25^th Annual Tattoo and Motorcycle Show Sunday night, drawing ink enthusiasts and interested gawkers alike. The tattoo competition categories included Best Color, Best Black and White, Best Tribal, Best Back and Best Butt, which—strangely enough—had nothing to do with tattoos whatsoever. To see some of the winners and get a feel for the scene, check out the video below.

By Tuan Nguyen

Paul Zig, 57, has been feeding the birds in Washington Square Park for the last nine years. Every single day, even if it rains or snows, Zig comes here to cater foods to the birds and a squirrel. He gives names to all of them, a flock of 50 All the birds of the Park gather at the exact corner where he usually sits. To Zig, the gift he gets from this is “trust” from the small fowls.

Watch this Snail video again. Shot, edited and published within 24 hours. Notice the creative titles and the smooth cuts we talked about during orientation.

Take another look at the remarkable Shinya Kimura video we viewed and discussed during orientation. Notice the vivid detail in the photography and the thoughtful shot selection.