1981: Bell-shaped object seen by people in Queens, New York

THINK ABOUTIT SIGHTING REPORT

Date: September 5, 1981

Sighting Time: 10:00 p.m.

Day/Night: night

Location: Queens, New York, New York

Urban or Rural: Urban

Hynek Classification: CE-II (Close Encounter II) Observation of an object in close proximity to the witness, where physical traces (impression, burn, medical effect, etc.) are left or (electrical effect, heat) are felt

Duration:

No. of Object(s): 1

Height & Speed: 40-50 stories above their tenement homes.

Size of Object(s): width of a 2 1/2 city streets

Distance to Object(s):

Shape of Object(s): bell-shaped with a flashing green light on top and swirling colored lights around the bottom edge.

Color of Object(s): Centered in the bottom part of the “bell” was a green triangular light surrounded by white circling lights. It was also said to have triangular windows lit with white light around the upper part of the bell and was making a beeping noise.

Number of Witnesses: Multiple

Source: News World (New York, NY), Sept. 19, 1981 

Summary/Description: At least ten people in Corona, Queens, said they saw a bell-shaped UFO with flashing multi-colored lights making a beeping noise on Sept. 5, 1981, at 10:00 p.m. Reportedly, as the UFO hovered over a tenement block, a triangular-shaped ray of green light shot out from the bottom of the object and shone on the face of a teen-aged girl observing the object from the window of her friend’s house. 

Full Report

Drawing of the object by witness Diana Martinez. (source: News World)

“Queens family shaken by UFO”

At least ten people in Corona, Queens, said they saw a bell-shaped UFO with flashing multi-colored lights making a beeping noise Saturday night, Sept. 5, at 10:00 p.m.

Reportedly, as the UFO hovered over a tenement block, a triangular-shaped ray of green light shot out from the bottom of the object and shone on the face of a teen-aged girl observing the object from the window of her friend’s house. She cried to her companion that she felt she was being “taken” by the UFO before she was pulled away from the window.

The object was observed near 104th St. and 44th Avenue in Corona, Queens. It was described as bell-shaped with a flashing green light on top and swirling colored lights around the bottom edge.

Centered in the bottom part of the “bell” was a green triangular light surrounded by white circling lights. It was also said to have triangular windows lit with white light around the upper part of the bell and was making a beeping noise.

Witnesses described it as flying about 40-50 stories above their tenement homes. One witness estimated that it was the width of a 2 1/2 city streets.

The UFO moved slowly towards the end of the block of 108th Street, then it came back and hovered over 104-47 44th Ave., a three-story tenement building, witnesses said.

Jet scared it off?

Then, as the UFO moved over towards 108th St., what witnesses believed to be a military jet with two strong beaming searchlights approached the UFO. At that moment the UFO shot out of sight.

Witnesses said they knew the jet was not a commercial airliner coming into nearby LaGuardia airport because the normal airport flight pattern was in a different direction. The noise of the jet was also said to be unusually loud, indicating it was flying lower than commercial jets.

Three members of the Colon family and their cousin Lewis Alya, Diana Martinez, who was hit with the green ray. and Diana’s grandfather waited until Sunday morning to tell their story of the UFO to Jayne Turconi. who delivers the News World and Noticias Del Mundo in the area. They did not call the police for fear of being considered “crazy.”

Throughout their story, they emphasized how terrified they were during the encounter.

Diana Martinez. 14. was at the home of Oneda Colon, 13, when she saw the object out the second-floor window. As she was looking with her head out the window, a green ray shot out from the triangular light at the center of the object and shone on her face.

She then cried to Oneda. “Smack me. smack me! It’s taking me!”

Oneda hit her face and pulled her away from the light. Diana said, “For two minutes I looked away. Everything went blank for me.”

Oneda’s mother. Carmen Colon.31, saw the UFO also. She said “The girls were screaming. So I ran to see what was happening and I saw it.”

Diana said. “The UFO was about ten stories high I above the ground1 when the green light hit my face.” She said it appeared to be as wide as 2 1/2 city streets side by side.

Jimmy Colon, 13, Oneda’s brother, said he saw the object when he was standing on the corner of 104th St. and 45th Ave. “It was about SO stories high I above the ground, making a circular pattern around our area. The UFO rotated in circles. It had* green light that beeped on and off.” The noise he described as “whoo-whoo.” sounding as the light flashed and stopping when it dimmed.

“It went around three times and then I came home and it disappeared. Before it disappeared it was still rotating but in the same spot and then after it had advanced a little bit. it slanted upward so fast I couldn’t see it. and it disappeared.”

He also said when the object stopped, it hovered over a power line.

Jenny Colon. 13. said she saw it after Diana and Oneda. She said the UFO took up an arc of the sky about three feet wide. “I saw a three-foot object with different color lights .swirling around the bottom with a green light lining on and off. It seemed to circle the area around our block. It went pretty last.” She said it lasted about 15 minutes.

The Colons’ cousin. Lewis Alya. i-t. also said he saw the object.

Other witnesses said they saw some colored lights and heard the jet coming and saw the scachlights from the jet.

Harry Lebelson, New York researcher for the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO) said that UFOs with similar characteristics, notably the triangular structures, were sighted in upstate New York in recent months.

I-ebelson said APRO would probably investigate the sighting, perhaps using a dermatologist to sec if the reported beam of light left traces of radiation on Diana’s skin.