Queens —
It wasn’t art that drew a crowd outside MoMA PS1 in Long Island City on a recent Sunday.
Hardscrabble union members wearing leather jackets, emblazoned with the International Union of Operating Engineers insignia, gathered on Nov. 18 with smartly dressed art installers beneath a giant inflatable rat — drawing nervous laughter from museum-goers, some of whom thought it was part of an exhibit.
But the rat wasn’t part of an installation; it was a message of defiance to management.