10/29/13, 07/09/20
5Pointz in Long Island City - Page LLLL

On Saturday, October 26th, as the L&M bus was stuck in traffic on the Long Island Expressway, I looked
to my right and saw a building covered in "graffiti".  The building was not too far from the City Group
building in Long Island City.  I made a mental note to look for it on Monday.  

Between Davis and Crane Streets on Jackson Avenue in Long Island City there is a building that is
beautifully decorated by artists.  The following photos show some of the artwork on the walls of the
building.   They call themselves 5Pointz (representing the 5 counties of NYC).  Artists from all over the
country and world have visited the area and have some of their artwork on the walls.

There were many people in the area taking photographs.  I even met a French couple that did not
speak any English!  I managed to get an opinion of the site, "beau" (beautiful).

The building is scheduled for demolition since there will be a high rise built in the spot.  Long
Island City has changed in the years since Citi Group built it's offices in the area, close to the
Supreme Court.  Gone are the warehouses, the empty buildings and lots.   There are now skyscrapers
all over the area.   

New York City during Mayor Bloomberg's 12 years in office has seen an increase in skyscrapers
housing offices and/or luxury apartments.    Neighborhoods that once had small buildings (no more
than 6 stories) are now being invaded with skyscrapers.
Supreme Court, LIC
Davis Street is under the elevated #7 train.
Front of the building, Jackson Avenue.

Some of the artists represented above could be the ones whose art can be seen on Page DDD
and other pages.

By the way, across the street on Jackson Avenue is MoMA PS1 (Museum of Modern Art).
Crane Street

I returned on November 6th and took a few more photos.
One World Trade Center
from Jackson Avenue
Under the #7 train from the corner of
Davis Street and Jackson Avenue.

Unfortunately, every good thing must come to an end.  The building with the "graffiti art" is being torn down to
begin construction of new buildings.   The art was painted over by the owner.  Below you can see what the building
now looks like.  Photos were taken November 20, 2013.  I also took photos of work that's across Davis Street.  
Were these paintings there when I visited previously but did not see them?
Front of building - Jackson Avenue
Side of building - Crane Street
Sheets of paper taped to wall to allow visitors to express
themselves!
The gold lettering in the center reads: "It cost aprox $20,000 to paint this building
overnight.  Imagine what a $20,000 donation would have done to families that won't
have a meal this Thanksgiving?"
Davis Street
These
are
across
the
street
from
the
5Pointz
building.  
Hadn't
seen
them
before.
Side of building - Davis Street
Back of building, seen from Crane Street.
And the painting over of the artwork continues!  
Crane Street

From http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/2013/11/5-pointz-erased-queens-new-york-graffiti/ -

"The space, considered the Mecca of the graffiti world, was located (in) Queens in New York City. Used as a space
for graffiti artists since the early 1990s, the owner of the property announced in 2011 he planned to demolish the
building to build high-rise residential buildings, which was approved by city council in Oct. 2013. The 5 Pointz
graffiti community had since been in a battle to keep the space as is and petitioned the government to consider
the space a protected cultural landmark."

From the Queens Chronicle of Thursday, February 15, 2018, VOL. XXV NO. 7, Page 4, Western Queens News:  
"A federal judge on Monday ruled the owner of the former site of 5Pointz in Long Island City,violated federal law
when he had violated federal copyright law when he had the graffiti mecca whitewashed in 2013 and must pay the
artists $6.75 million..."  "...The ruling applies to 45 of the paintings at the site, which people from around the world
came to see before it was torn down..."  Monday would have been February 12th.  The address of the building
is 45-46 Davis St.  Scroll up 7 photos and you will see part of the whitewashed walls.