Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Floating Digital Billboard Reminds NYC To 'NEVER FORGET' Before It Shows Some More Beer Ads
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 11, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
C. Dimmick
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 11, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
As the names of those lost on September 11th, 2001 were read at the 9/11 Memorial this morning, you might have been compelled to turn towards the Hudson River and gaze at the Statue of Liberty, to use the expanse of the river and its steady current to contemplate the preciousness of life. Helpfully, a 20-foot wide, 60-foot LED billboard that usually projects images of Heineken and the Grinch and that Broadway play Wicked, was there to aid your meditation with a simple refrain: "NEVER FORGET."
“There really are no words for their use of an advertising billboard on this solemn day," tipster C. Dimmick, who sent the photo to Gothamist, wrote in an email. "9/11 is not a holiday. It is not an advertisement. It is a day of remembrance of loved ones lost by the hands of terrorists. Anyone who witnessed it will never forget. We witnessed something so horrific it can never be erased from our memories."
Dimmick added, "The billboard imagery was insensitive, crass and a futile attempt to gain the approval of New Yorkers for their illegal use of our waters for their own personal gain."
Governor Andrew Cuomo called the billboards a "nuisance that blight our shores and distract from the great natural beauty of our waterways" when he signed a law banning them from operating last month. The company that operates the billboard boats, Ballyhoo Media, has said that they will not stop running them. CEO Adam Shapiro argues that the state law only applies to floating billboards that use “flashing or intermittent lights,” and that Ballyhoo only has to adhere to federal standards for roadway signs, which allow digital billboards to change every four to ten seconds.
The NYPD recently told Gothamist that they are still figuring out how to enforce the state law, which carries penalties of $1,000 for a first violation, and $5,000 for subsequent offenses.
A lawsuit filed by the City against Ballyhoo is still pending, and the company has countersued, while a judge has ordered them maintain a distance of 1,500 feet of the city shoreline or within sight of any "arterial highway" like the FDR or West Side Highway. (Ballyhoo has acknowledged that they'd been forced to breach the boundary in order "to maintain safe navigation procedures.") Court records show that the two sides are preparing for a bench trial, and a status conference is scheduled for February 20, 2020.
Ballyhoo reportedly gets paid $55,000 to run 30-second spots in two minute loops over a four week period. The company has previously aired messages to raise awareness of climate change.
Shapiro and a rep for the company have not responded to our request for comment.
Tagged
9/11 anniversary
september 11 anniversary
ballyhoo media
tv boat
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .