~DUKE RILEY/scores NY POST FRONT PAGE
NEW YORK POST – FRONT PAGE – LATE CITY FINAL – SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, 2007
the caption reads: “SUB MORON – Submarine nuts invade B’klyn ship”
the text on the cover reads: “The replica Revolutionary War submarine at far left, sparked terror fears on the Brooklyn waterfront yesterday as Philip Duke Riley (right) and two cohorts steered their art-project craft too close to the Queen Mary 2 ocean liner.”
(it’s the egg shaped vessel with what looks like a scuba apartatus shaped appendage, to the left of .. “MORON”.)
more details of the story, and more photos, were posted inside on pages 4 & 5 in an article written by HEIDI SINGER, PHILIP MESSING & PATRICK GALLAHUE.
The other 2 players were MICHAEL CUSHING and JESSE BUSHNELL. The original revolutionary war submersible invention, was called the Turtle. Bushnell, claims to be a descendant of the original Turtle’s inventor, David Bushnell. The Turtle a rudimentary foot pedaled underwater vessel, was used by the USA, in 1776, in a strike on a British warship, in what is believed to be the first underwater ‘submarine’ attack.
Bushnell, 35, and Cushing, 23, have Rhode Island addresses. Riley graduated from the RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN in 1995, and moved to NYC about 10 years ago.
According to the article, Cushing and Bushnell “towed the inoperable wood and fiberglass, egg shaped submarine in a rubber raft as Riley rode inside the 12-foot-deep, 8-foot-wide replica, police said.”
“As the craft came within 200 feet of the Queen Mary, an NYPD intelligence detective aboard the luxury liner spotted the Turtle reproduction and alerted authorities…”
get this: – “The NYPD’s Aviation and Harbor units responded, as well
as, police from the Port Authority, the Waterfront Commission and local and federal intelligence personnel.” !!!!
Apparently they were taken from the water to the 76th Precinct House in Carroll Gardens, where “they were questioned before being released” – ” ‘We can summarize today’s incident as marine mischief,’ (NYC) Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.”
“Riley the owner of the vessel, was given summonses by the harbor unit for reckless operation of a craft and towing in a reckless manner” – Riley blamed it all on the current !!
according to the article:
“The Post caught up to Riley at a neighborhood bar, B61, after his aquatic adventure got shipwrecked.
‘I just got caught up in the current’, he said over chips and salsa.”
DUKE RILEY last surfaced in artlovers, summer 2006, at an art opening, with his then-girlfriend, ‘Tide and Current Water Taxi’ artist, MARIE LORENZ.
MARIE LORENZ and DUKE RILEY, attend ‘Local Transit’, Artists Space, May 16, 2006
Marie had work in the show.
PHOTO: Nancy Smith
more photo coverage from that opening
check out: DUKE RILEY’S WEBSITE