Local officials are looking to sink the hopes of a controversial advertising company that recently launched a floating billboard off the coast of Manhattan, which is probably illegal and definitely "hideous," according to the Mayor's Office.

Owned by Miami-based company Ballyhoo Media, the 60-foot barge first began making daily voyages around Manhattan in October, carrying high-definition LED ads for private helicopter rides, beer, and The Walking Dead. But following a Gothamist investigation last week, the New York City Law Department sent a letter to Ballyhoo CEO Adam Shapiro informing him that he was breaking the law.

"There is sufficient cause to believe that Ballyhoo’s operations in New York City violate the Zoning Resolution," Corporation Counsel Zachary Carter wrote in the January 2nd letter. "Therefore, we are writing to provide Ballyhoo with an opportunity to demonstrate, no later than Jan. 16, 2019, how it intends to comply."

According to Carter, several provisions of the NYC Administrative Code prohibit advertising signs in waterways adjacent to a residential, commercial, or manufacturing district and within view of an arterial highway—including the West Side Highway and FDR Drive. The boat's current route begins near the Intrepid, traveling around the the southern tip of Manhattan before finishing at Roosevelt Island.

Yeah, so in addition to being hideous, it’s likely illegal. In fact, we sent them a letter today spelling it out. Advertisers, beware. pic.twitter.com/1L222xpiUA — Eric Phillips (@EricFPhillips) January 3, 2019

The aggressively bright ads have raised fears among New Yorkers that the tranquil waterfront could soon become overrun with intrusive advertising if the company is left unchecked. "It's disgusting," Marcy Benstock, director of the Clean Air Campaign and the Open Rivers Project, told us last week. "People go to the river to contemplate, to do yoga or meditate or just relax. Then this giant billboard comes along—what a nightmare!"

Elected officials have also expressed concerns about safety. Councilmember Justin Brannan, who represents Bay Ridge, said the barge was "not only ugly, obnoxious and illegal, but dangerous to already distracted drivers." He added that "visual pollution is a real thing and our waterways should be off limits," noting that the law is "pretty clear."

But according to Shapiro, the city is misinterpreting its own administrative code. “The cited zoning resolution does not apply to the waters in which we operate," Shapiro said in an emailed statement. "We are legally operating in accordance with all current New York City laws and zoning resolutions. We look forward to working with the city and resolving this matter shortly."

We reached out to the Coast Guard, which has federal oversight over the river, but did not hear back. A maritime expert previously told Gothamist that jurisdiction would likely fall to the city absent a federal law explicitly permitting waterfront advertising.

Ballyhoo has navigated murky legal waters before. After their first floating billboard appeared off the coast of Miami two years ago, local officials pledged to ban the company, but found that the relevant city law pertained only to Biscayne Bay. During a regulatory hearing on the matter, Beach Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez suggest that Ballyhoo "might have better luck up North."

Anyway, we hear the Charles River is lovely this time of year, and Boston's waterfront is reportedly booming.