5Pointz was a graffiti mecca. A bastion of art, visited by tour groups, New Yorkers, other artists and anyone who could appreciate well-executed crafts by local artists, as well as those worldwide. The 200,000 square foot factory building in Long Island City, Queens boasted colorful pieces and was visible from the 7 train. Its name signifies the five boroughs coming together as one.
And it has now been completely destroyed.
In the middle of the night on November 18, 2013, as a result of the property being sold, painters began whitewashing the art, for the sole purpose of making it unavailable to artists to try to claim the pieces of their artwork. Hundreds rallied on a cold night to denounce the cowardly move by property owner and developer, Jerry Wolkoff and speak their minds while saying their good-byes.
The property will now be used to build condos. Instead of a bastion of art, it will now represent the rapid gentrification of New York City and symbolize the criminalization of any art done by the People and not for-profit. This is the world we live in, where the rich want it all and they will go to any lengths to push us to the fringes. WE MUST FIGHT BACK.
Despite having lived in New York City for just over two years at the time, I had never made the trek. Luckily for me, I finally did on November 11, 2013, just one week before the destruction. Here are some of the photos that I took.
NOVEMBER 11, 2013
FIVE POINTZ
LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS, NYC
