The millions of pigeons that call New York City home are getting a 700-lb, five-story-tall cousin floating around the coast of Manhattan on Tuesday.
New York City FC (NYCFC) is releasing the pigeon on the “Five Borough Flight” that starts at the North Shore Waterfront in Staten Island and follows the East and Hudson Rivers all day, leading to Willets Point, where NYCFC is set to open its new home, Etihad Park, in 2027.
“Timed to coincide with the FIFA Club World Cup taking place across the river in New Jersey, the installation is NYCFC’s way of proudly repping the city and reminding fans of the home club in their backyard,” a release from the club read. “The 700lb pigeon, a nod to New York’s most prolific resident and the Club’s unofficial mascot, was designed to stop soccer fans in their tracks during a peak moment for the sport and kick start the future of NYC football.”
Created by creative studio agency Tavern, the pigeon sets flight at 8:30 a.m. from Staten Island and will “fly” up the Hudson River to Riverbank State Park, before turning back around and making its way down to the East River.
Viewers can get a look at the pigeon on the west side of Manhattan all morning, while the pigeon is expected to reach the bottom tip of the island — with viewing spots at both Battery Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park — at around 10 a.m. The pigeon is then expected to fly up Hunter’s Point in Queens, then Barretto Point Park in the Bronx, hitting all five boroughs.
It will return to Two Bridges at approximately 3 P.M., where it gets to perch before returning to Staten Island around 5 P.M.
The guerrilla-style activation is just one of many soccer-themed stunts the city has seen this summer. Tunisian and Brazilian fans were filmed partying and taking over Times Square, turning the major city landmark into a sea of soccer fans with flares, drums, and flags. Palmeiras fans took it a step further, “invading” the Brooklyn Bridge with their supporters’ groups before their final group match against Al-Ahly at MetLife Stadium.
With the 2026 World Cup less than a year away, and with the final being played at MetLife, there is a growing excitement for the world’s biggest sporting event in the city. There has been a greater visible soccer presence in the city, with more jerseys of teams from Europe, South America, and Africa being seen on the streets, and more shops that sell retro soccer jerseys from years gone by have popped up online and on the streets.
The pigeon won’t be the first of its kind, however — Florentijn Hofman released an 18-foot rubber duck into Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour in 2013 and repeated the feat with twice the number of ducks in 2023.
Remember to bring your sunglasses and sunblock for what is going to hot day in the low 90s.
