Flying Pigs Over Chicago's Trump Tower Sign Grounded For Now

CHICAGO, IL — A design firm's proposal to float four golden, helium-filled, pig-shaped balloons in front of the Trump Tower and International Hotel's 20-foot sign in September has been shot down by city officials, at least temporarily. New World Design Ltd. was denied a docking permit for its one-day protest and art display, "Floating Pigs on Parade: A Chicago River Folly," the Chicago-based firm said in a statement. The Chicago Department of Transportation cited precedent-setting concerns, as well worries that the barge used to anchor the 30-foot-by-15-foot balloons along the Chicago River would tie up traffic on the waterway, the firm said.

New World Design announced the inflatable pigs project late last year as a way to "provide visual relief" to Chicago's downtown skyline by floating the balloons in front of President Donald Trump's building at 401 N. Wabash Ave., the firm said at the time. Inspired by the cover of Pink Floyd's 1977 album "Animals" and George Orwell's 1946 novella "Animal Farm," the art display would create "a partial blockage of the sign’s visual noise," which the firm called "ostentatious in an online posting about the project. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Chicago — or your neighborhood. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Although a permit was denied for the exhibition for September, the firm could try again next year. But other factors would need to be addressed besides the concerns expressed by the city. For instance, the projected cost of municipal expenses connected with the "festival-style event," such as security and sanitation, was "substantially higher" than the firm originally budgeted.

RELATED: Gold Pigs Will Fly When Chicago's Trump Tower's Sign Looks Good, Design Firm Says

The organizers, however, remain optimistic that the art project will get off the ground in 2018, whether it's in Chicago or possibly another city. (Along with Chicago, Trump also has hotels in New York City, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.) Jeffrey Roberts, one of New World Design's partners, said the online response to the project has been very positive, and the proposal has reached more than 500,000 people in 45 countries thanks to social media, he added.

"Given the continuing irrational nature of the political environment, our team remains committed to the message and deployment of the art installation," Roberts said in the firm's statement. "We greatly appreciate the support from those that have contributed and those that have helped us spread the message via social media channels and other media outlets."

The "Flying Pigs on Parade" website will stay up to accept donations and sell merchandise so long as interest in the project remains, Roberts said. If the art project doesn't get new life next year, any money collected will be donated to charities and organizations, such as Planned Parenthood, ProPublica, the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and other groups listed on the project's site.

An artist's rendition of the proposed "Floating Pigs on Parade: A Chicago River Folly" art display and protest by New World Design. (Image via New World Design Ltd.)

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