The news that the owner of 5-pointz aka the Phun Factory in Long Island City went ahead and whitewashed its graffitied facade, DEFACING the art, all 200,000 sq. ft. of it, made my heart sink. The landlord of the building, which has been an active site for public/street art for over a decade and also houses artists studios and curated events, did so in preparation for building two condos, though he claims it was done also with “>a heavy heart. This FB page/group kept me informed as things went from bad to worse, the bid for landmark status being stalled just long enough for developers to seal the deal with Bloomberg’s cronies while they still could. But it still seemed very sudden, shock and awe style. My heart lifted a bit when I hear that within hours of this power display, supporters were back projecting graffitied messages onto the building to let the landlord know where they stood. My favorite said, “2 b continued, not the end”, as in no surrender. Corporate New York has had the reigns for so long in this town no doubt they won’t take it seriously, but sooner or later, the tides will turn.
