After months of public rallies and petitioning against the decision, the landmark graffiti space known as 5 Pointz in Queens, New York has been approved for demolition following an October 9 decision by the New York City Council officially permitting a developer’s plan to construct a 1,000 unit apartment complex in its place.
The complex, a development of G&M Realty, is slated to include two high-rise apartment buildings, one 47 stories tall and the other 41 stories, in a space formerly occupied by one of the world’s preeminent graffiti attractions. The planned development is slated to include hundreds of luxury apartments and a smaller number of affordable housing units.
While the demolition has yet to officially commence, hundreds of pieces of graffiti were painted over yesterday (November 19), as per reports by The New York Post and NY Daily News. The Post’s story reports that the “owners of 5 Pointz had the graffiti Mecca in Long Island City whitewashed overnight.” Pictures of the recently painted over 5 Pointz can be seen below via a Tweet from New York Public Radio WNYC’s Twitter account.
The widescale painting over of much of the featured graffiti comes as the latest news in a long-string of public developments over the space. Late last month a group of local artists successfully petitioned for a “10-day restraining order…insuring [sic] that building-owners G&M Realty will have to wait…to put wrecking ball to concrete” per a report by Huffington Post. Per the Huffington Post’s late-October story, the artists and their lawyer “[hoped] that the temporary restraining order [would] give them the time needed to obtain a temporary and eventually a permanent injunction against G&M Realty. The artists [were] suing on the grounds that demolition of the mural-covered building would damage their work and careers under the terms of the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990.”
The NY Daily News reported that on November 12 a Federal Judge rejected a permanent injunction to avoid the building’s planned demolition.
Sacha Jenkins Says Removing 5 Pointz Will Leave A “Gaping New Hole In The Heart Of The City”
In a statement issued exclusively to HipHopDX today (November 20), longtime music journalist, graffiti fan and member of the Rap-Punk band The White Mandingos Sacha Jenkins addressed the recent series of events. “5 Pointz was a great success and an important step in developing America’s appreciation for the graffiti—or, what we purists call the, writing movement,” Jenkins said in his statement. “Why so many American cities front on creating environments like 5 Pointz is beyond me, but hopefully New York’s new mayor will step up with some kind [of] answer to this gaping new hole in the heart of the city.”
Jenkins’ comments refer to the recent election of New York City’s Mayor Elect, Bill De Blasio.
The planned demolition will put an end to a history spanning more than 20 years in which 5 Pointz served as a city-sanctioned outdoor exhibition space for graffiti artists. Proponents of the project have long championed the owner of the building’s provision of a formal space for graffiti artists to conduct their artwork as well as a safe alternative to illegal painting.
As HipHopDX reported earlier this year, founder of the 5 Pointz collective, Jonathan Cohen, commented on the then-speculated plans for redevelopment. “If it were to happen, it would be no different than tearing down the MOMA or the Guggenheim,” Cohen said in reference to two of New York City’s more prestigious fine-art museums. “It is not just any other building with graffiti on it. It is the epicenter for graffiti artists from all over the world.”
Why would you paint over it then demolish it? Is the point to waste money?
i know right. its kinda like a big fuck you to everyone who painted that shit
NOOOO
bye bye motherfucker
I don’t get it, why paint over the art if your just going to tear the building down.
Because the artists took the owner to court to try to claim control over the building by having it landmarked. It’s HIS building, and he wasn’t going to take people messing with his rights as an owner.
Maybe if the art community had gotten together and made him an offer, instead of trying to bogart his building, he wouldn’t have sliced their move by whitewashing the place.
Presto!. Nothing left to landmark anymore. Problem solved.
I have a life now, good-bye hiphopdx.com.
only 2 days late with this one, good job hhdx
They could’ve at LEAST left the graffiti and offered the rubble to the artists so they could have a piece of history — like the Berlin Wall… instead, they do the shameful thing.
What’s happening to NY…? It’s like people that don’t even own the culture want people to forget it’s the MECCA OF HIPHOP!
Super saddened by this.
The owner let the artists use his building FREE or charge for their work for 13 years, and the thanks he got was them taking him to court over what he wanted to do with HIS property.
Shameful. No doubt the last time a property owner shows similar FREE openness to the NYC creative street community.
No good deed goes unpunished.
smfh
oh well…the only people who fucked with 5 pointz the last 6 years were artsy hipsters looking for photos to put on their tumblr…
More Graffiti artists acting greedy. If you want to own your art, don’t paint it on a building. I thought the whole point of graffiti is that it is owned by the public. Some guy lets them paint his building, then when he wants to build an apartment complex they try and sue him? Quite silly. Why don’t they buy their own building?
No one gives a shit! It’s not hurting no ones pockets! Rappers don’t give a shit and graffiti is all over New York City! You will live and fuck kool herc’s house! These old people think that just because certain artists who were around in the 80s deserve top notch respect! these fucks havent done anything for the culture since then. they made the decision not to conform and be ignorant and prideful. These fucking people need to understand business and quit posing like this is some sort of disrespect!
its a lot of ignorant statements in here by people who’s life has no meaning outside of a message board where they make blind rants to get reactions outta people…yeas thats a run on sentence who cares…people can’t deny the impact hip hop has had on the globe…spanning from the bronx to the globe…what this is is another ploy to erase the rots of the culture so they can further pollute it into the music you hear everyday on your radio dials…music thats used as a tool to fuel ignorance and melt minds…true hip hop is beautiful….african americans are beautiful but we have all had that truth stripped from us same way they are doing to hip hop right now…so many artists are enslaved they aren’t using their voice and power for change…look at dumb ass jay z and koonye..both proud slaves to corporate america…as long as those checks keep rolling in they will remain in their lane…this is shameful…instead of a barneys deal jay should invest in something that could uplift the culture buy this building turn it into a community center…or puff could do something outside of bloodsucking artists into obscurity biggie was right …it was all a dream…smh
Shut the fuck up! With all your bullshit knowledge on what guys like kanye and jay should do. This ain’t the 80s anymore where guys use nursery rhymes. Those days are over! Fuck the Bronx and meanings. African Americans are not beautiful. You ever wonder why your fucks are white under your feet and hands? It’s because when he made you idiots he told you fucks to place your hands against the wall looking forward and painted you guys black only from the back. Get over your stupid change talk and deal with the fact that things change. And there’s nothing you or faggots like immortal technique can do about it!
til I saw the paycheck which said $9122, I accept that my friends brother was like actualie earning money in there spare time on there computar.. there sisters roommate had bean doing this less than 22 months and just took care of the mortgage on there villa and got themselves a BMW. read the article.., http://www.Fb39.com
Why are you shitting on peoples brand in the media when the disagreement you had was personal?!?!? I think Kanye is officially a sellout esp with those confederate flag jackets and bringing a white jesus on stage. Nigga you lost. fuck off.
5 pointz disappeared… what a shame for street art… I found some pictures in Art Days 5 Pointz from Painting to Whiting:
http://www.art-days.com/5-pointz-painting-whiting-new-york-2013/