Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Graffiti mecca 5 Pointz repainted white in Queens

epa03827530 People look over the graffiti on a giant warehouse building complex, know as "5 Pointz", in Long Island City, New York, USA on 16 August 2013. The area has received acclaim as a graffiti mecca and has been used by graffiti artists since the early 1990s, but recently the property owner, Jerry Wolkoff, announced plans to raze the buildings to build high-rise residential buildings. Some community members are petitioning the government to consider the space a protected cultural landmark. EPA/JUSTIN LANE

JUSTIN LANE/EPA



How 5 Pointz looked before its owners painted over all of the graffiti late Monday night. The building is going to be torn down for two apartment complexes.




Queens’ graffiti mecca is no more.


The extensive aerosol art on 5 Pointz — an internationally renowned haven for urban artists — was quitely painted white early Tuesday morning.


The Davis St. building is set to be demolished later this year to make way for a pair of luxury apartments.


The plan — spearheaded by the owners of the site Jerry Wolkoff and his son David — was approved overwhelmingly by the City Council in October.


RELATED: JUDGE REFUSES TO BLOCK 5POINTZ DEMOLITION


The collection of graffiti aficionados that used the building as their tagging temple were distraught.


“I’m grieving right now,” said Marie Flageul, a 5 Pointz spokeswoman. “It was the largest aerosol art center in the world. You can never replace it.”


The artist collective sought to block the building’s demolition, filing an request for an injunction based on the Visual Artists Rights Act, which protects works of art that have “recognized stature.”


Federal Judge Federic Block officially rejected their injunction last Tuesday, allowing for the demoliton plans to move ahead.


RELATED: GRAFFITI ARTISTS TURN NEW YORK CITY INTO CANVAS


Gawkers gathered to survey the new — and drastically different — face of 5 Pointz.


“I’m super sad for 10 years of work to be painted over in one night,” said Pierre Fillet, 33, an artists who lives in Long Island City. “This is vandalism.”


idejohn@nydailynews





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