1997-04-25 - New York, NY - Other

I just finished reading the Woodbridge, New Jersey "Shape Changer" article in Filers Files #21 and it is almost exactly like my sighting in April or May 1997. I hope the writer of that report can read my sighting below, from my personal UFO Journal and know he or she is not alone in seeing this type of shape changing object. Thank you.

Gil Rodriguez 1997 - 16. Spring - April or May. I lived at my present address of 640 East 79th St. between Glenwood & Farrigut Roads. While finishing up a long walk, one morning about 11:30 am, I had the urge to look behind me (a soft (mechanical sounding) voice said "LOOK UP") and I saw a large dark (very dark gray to black) doughnut shaped object moving in the sky over my left shoulder. It was over to the North West, a few blocks up around Utica and Foster Avenues when first sighted. I could see the sky through the center of this object. It looked to be 2000 to 5000 feet above the area. After a few seconds it moved over with a fast jump or dart like movement and was almost directly over Glenwood Road where I was walking as it changed shape several times from a doughnut to a cigar shape with the front 1/5 of its length bent back, then it became a straight cigar or cylinder shape, then a chevron shape. It made a jump or move down quickly over the street (maybe 500 feet up) and looked at least as wide as the street (Glenwood Road) I was walking on (it had now changed into a cigar/cylinder shape). After changing again into a chevron, it changed into a figure eight. The exact shapes it changed into, the sequence, I have drawn on paper from that day with a letter I eventually sent to Sightings and Encounters. (I never heard from either show). I somehow had the impression that this thing was alive or that it was some kind of creature, especially when it was cigar shaped with the front 1/5 section bent back. During this time there were about 5 people on the street within the next two to three blocks who were looking at it and pointing. One guy yelled out "what the hell is that" when it was shaped like a figure eight. I was thinking at this time that if I ran home, I could get my video camera and get some video of it. The object stayed ahead of me as I ran. I ran the remaining six or seven blocks home and went inside calling my wife, mother-in-law and daughter frantically to come outside and see this UFO. I went back outside! and was joined by my daughter, my wife and mother-in-law (there voices can be heard on the tape). I taped for about 54 seconds where you see it changing shape three times before it moved into the clouds. You can see it change into a chevron, a ball or disk and finally a dark/black cigar/cylinder shape before moving into the clouds (my daughter is heard saying " it’s going into the clouds"). Today, 1/03/03 I remembered that my first thought was that it was a long string of large black balloons that might have flown off from a parade or a street fair, but the shapes it made especially when it came down over the block (Glenwood Avenue) I was walking on (doughnut, cylinder, chevron and figure eight) made it look like one solid object, with no segments.