[NYguy]

The Fate of 5 Pointz: Why One Man May Demolish New York’s Graffiti Mecca





Michele Berry
October 24, 2012

5 Pointz is hard to miss. As the 7 train rises out of the depths of the East River into Long Island City, Queens, the five-story graffiti-covered warehouse slowly comes into focus. Passengers crane their heads to glimpse a peek at the murals of rappers, hip hop artists, and cartoons that burst to life from its peeling yellow walls.

Known as the world’s graffiti mecca, 5 Pointz is the largest legal aerosol art site of its kind. Artists come to this warehouse from all over the world for the chance to see their work displayed on its walls. It has been featured on numerous bus tours, been the backdrop for several movies and television episodes, and has been listed in every major guidebook, making it a destination for tourists and art aficionados alike. Since the early 1990s, 5 Pointz has proudly dominated the Long Island City landscape, functioning as an introduction to Queens and a haven for graffiti artists — one of the only places in the world where they can legally practice their craft.

But as of this fall, the fate of 5 Pointz has officially been threatened. As the economy improves and the area around the warehouse has become more popular, Wolkoff has decided to demolish the aging building to make room for rental properties. To many, Wolkoff’s approach is in line with the trend of the developing neighborhood. However, for about 15,000 petition signers and countless others, Wolkoff is about to do the unthinkable: tear down a building that has defined graffiti culture for decades.

Numerous complaints and citations have been lodged against 5 Pointz in the past fifteen years by residents of Long Island City, mostly related to maintenance issues. Wolkoff said he has also fielded complaints by neighbors about the graffiti art. “I get a tremendous amount of pressure from people who don’t like graffiti in the neighborhood,” he said. “Any given day or week I could have taken the art off the walls. Any time I wanted to. But because we like it, we’ve kept it there.” In addition, Wolkoff said that he is losing large sums of money because of the property. He does not charge the artists who paint at 5 Pointz or accept any compensation from tours, but continues to pay taxes on the building.

Wolkoff’s decision to construct a new rental property in Long Island City has much to do with the dramatic shift that has taken place there in the past decade. An influx of new residents have flocked to the neighborhood, drawn by cheap rents and its proximity to Manhattan. Wolkoff’s plans include two towers reaching 47 and 41 stories, containing 1,000 rental units and up to 30,000 square feet of retail space. He is currently applying for permits that will allow him to build five times what is allowed on the lot. After he is approved by city planning, he will be able to apply for a demolition permit.

In an interview with WNYC, Joseph Conley, the head of Queens Community Board 2, said, “I can’t see that the community will lose anything with that building. It’s an outdated building. It’s from a bygone era and it’s certainly not an efficient use of space.”

Wolkoff has plans to allow artists to continue to paint on the walls outside of his rental towers, though on a much smaller scale than the vast warehouse of 5 Pointz. For Flaguel and the artists, that is not enough. “Graffiti and street art is the most relevant art movement of the 20th century,” said Flaguel. “It’s an art form that has been practiced by every culture, every religion, and every color…You’re about to erase the Chrysler Building of the biggest art movement of the 20th century.”