Yesterday, while riding to my weekly volunteer stint at Recycle A Bicycle, I chanced upon something I may never get to see again:
Two years ago, David Wolkoff, who owns the property on which 5 Pointz is located, announced plans to raze the building and construct two towers of luxury condos in its place. The demolition has been scheduled for next month.
Given that 5 Pointz is located just behind the old courthouse (one of the most attractive buildings in Queens, in my opinion) and less than half a kilometer from PS 1 and the Citicorp building. As much as it pains me to say this, it's actually rather surprising that 5 Pointz has endured in its location in a quickly-gentrifying neighborhood for two decades.
That means, of course, something else that it pains me to say: Two decades' worth of some of the best graffiti, by some of the best-known graffiti artists, will be lost. And artists who have studios inside the building (for which they've been paying below-market rents) will have to find new digs. Some might actually leave New York altogether.
It also means the loss of one of those landmarks that provides cyclists in New York with a vista different from any other.
Two years ago, David Wolkoff, who owns the property on which 5 Pointz is located, announced plans to raze the building and construct two towers of luxury condos in its place. The demolition has been scheduled for next month.
Given that 5 Pointz is located just behind the old courthouse (one of the most attractive buildings in Queens, in my opinion) and less than half a kilometer from PS 1 and the Citicorp building. As much as it pains me to say this, it's actually rather surprising that 5 Pointz has endured in its location in a quickly-gentrifying neighborhood for two decades.
That means, of course, something else that it pains me to say: Two decades' worth of some of the best graffiti, by some of the best-known graffiti artists, will be lost. And artists who have studios inside the building (for which they've been paying below-market rents) will have to find new digs. Some might actually leave New York altogether.
It also means the loss of one of those landmarks that provides cyclists in New York with a vista different from any other.
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