New Yorkers are hearing things these days — and it is coming from the bushes.
It is the sound of concrete crickets, little devices created by artist Michael Dory that play bits of music and make cricket-like sounds. Dory hides small sound devices in containers around the city, similar to the way graffiti artists spray paint their art on walls without asking anyone's consent.
The crickets are just loud enough for passersby to hear. And like their namesake, the crickets stop chirping when the curious draw too close — thanks to motion sensors Dory installed in them.
Dory says the idea for the crickets came to him as he watched his lower east side neighborhood change, becoming too expensive for the artists who lived there.
The concrete crickets, he says, are his way of keeping his voice in the neighborhood.