5Pointz Destruction Delayed Due To VARA Law


I didn’t try to veil my opinion in my recent post about 5Pointz closing. I am one of the many who are disappointed in the decision to tear down the graffiti-covered building in favor of a new luxury condo. But before we all continue to mourn the giant art installation of a warehouse, it appears as though the lawyer for 5Pointz, Jeannine Chanes, may have found a loophole. According to ANIMAL, Judge Frederic Block ordered a halt to the demolition of the building by its owners in the form of a restraining order this week.The Visual Arts Rights Act (VARA) of 1990 contains a clause that prohibits the destruction or alteration of works of art that are inextricably installed on a building, unless authorized to do so, presumably by the artists behind the work or community at large. Chanes’ use of this law implies that 5Pointz may be able to stop the building’s owner from making the demolition decision in this type of case. We’ll keep you in the loop on how this develops.

%Slideshow-80364%

5Pointz Will Officially Be Destroyed And Replaced With Luxury Condo


It was more than two years ago that I wrote about the possibility of 5Pointz, an artistic hub of a warehouse owned by the Wolkoff family, being demolished. I called the article 5Pointz Is Coming Down And It’s A Shame and I ranted about the pure audacity and soullessness of anyone who would rather see condos in its place.

All of that vitriol has been revived in me today upon learning that the City Council made a final decision to demolish the Long Island City building. That final decision was influenced in part by councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who was previously opposed to demolishing the building, but changed his tune and helped damn the beautiful space to hell with comments about how there’s “not a way to save the building” and “the building is privately owned; the owners can knock that down and build a very large building.” (These quotes are from Animal.)

It’s not that he was necessarily wrong. Maybe the Wolkoff family really was going to tear 5Pointz down no matter what. It’s that the effort to preserve 5Pointz deserved support from our leaders.

%Slideshow-80364%The “deal” struck last night isn’t a deal at all –- unless you consider developers agreeing to allow curated graffiti on their shiny new buildings as an exploitation of 5Pointz under the guise of “keeping the 5Pointz legacy alive” a deal. That’s right, the residential buildings that will take the place of 5Pointz will so generously grant artists the ability to paint on designated panels and other areas in a clean-cut, not-at-all-representative-of-5Pointz way.

Look, despite my unabashed admiration of street art, I don’t consider myself a proponent of vandalism. But this is a Big Money way to add insult to the injury of local artistic culture and no matter the “special painting areas” that will be allocated to approved artists, the fact remains: 5Pointz is going to be destroyed and replaced by a luxury condo and I don’t think a luxury condo, no matter how you paint it, can preserve the 5Pointz legacy.

5Pointz is coming down and it’s a shame

5Pointz probably won’t be around much longer. In case you haven’t heard, one of New York‘s finest art installments may be coming down for the sake of urban expansion: two 30 story apartment buildings in an increasingly hip neighborhood. And such seems to be the story in ever expanding cities like New York. What is good is not synonymous with what has longevity. Without generating a profit up to par with profit potential, certain things in New York, even landmarks, take a backseat to business. But this case is exceptional. This building, 5Pointz, is a work of art–one that should be preserved with the same respect we preserve all other great works of art. The problem is this: 5Pointz isn’t like other art.

5Pointz is a graffiti-clad building with a rotating roster of artists whose work is on display. Located in Long Island City, 5Pointz wasn’t far away from the Astoria apartment where I spent 7 years. I stumbled across the building the first time probably the same way many people do. I was riding the 7 train and I noticed a towering warehouse, vividly colorful against the drab skyline on what I remember to be a rather drab day. I seized the opportunity the next time I was in the neighborhood of the 7 train to exit, follow the overhead tracks, and find the building. To my surprise, there were a dozen or so other people there when I arrived, seeming just as curious as I was. They were taking photos and standing in awe of giant portraits. As I walked the perimeter of 5Pointz and passed by other admirers, I found myself speaking in a hushed voice just like everyone else there, just like I would in a museum. Clearly, there was something to be respected on the walls of 5Pointz.

%Gallery-132436%I found my way onto the roof of the building. The image of the city’s skyline from that rooftop, fogged over just ahead, is one I don’t think I’ll ever forget.

When I went back to 5Pointz the second time, I brought a friend with me. I expected to show her the same art on the walls I had seen the first time. Instead, it was all different. I soon learned that 5Pointz’s art is revolving art, that each piece of artwork that was ever painted on a wall of 5Pointz was intended to not last forever, but instead, perhaps, just a few weeks. I began taking all of my visiting friends to 5Pointz, looking forward to their respective visits since they marked my calendar with visits to 5Pointz. The art changed every time I walked around the building, and I walked around that building many times.

After spending 8 years in New York, I left the city with a fondness for 5Pointz no less tender than that first visit to 5Pointz. Any time someone visiting the city has asked me for off-the-beaten-path suggestions of what to do in New York, even now that I am living in Austin, I have instructed them to visit 5Pointz. I have told them which stop to get off the 7 train at, I have told them to just follow the overhead tracks. My father, my sister, my brother, my best friends… I took them all to that building. I even had a photo shoot there with my old band. And it really breaks my heart that others may now not receive the same opportunity we all had–the opportunity to experience 5Pointz.

The building’s owner, a Mr. Wolkoff, seems to appreciate art, but not enough to preserve this monumental landmark. A recent New York Times piece discussing the building’s fate reported that Wolkoff is willing to give the graffiti artists who call 5Pointz home a “rear wall” on the new structure. And, of course, a rear wall will never replace this positively special place, because the essence of 5Pointz is contained on that particular building, not a shining new structure. But Wolkoff is 74 years old. Preserving an old spray painted building certainly wouldn’t be the traditional thing to do, that is, so long as spray paint is considered an unbecoming art medium. But that’s the entire problem with this situation.

Spray paint, unfortunately for spray paint artists’ and art appreciators’ sake, is associated with vandalism, gang signs, and huffing. But does that affect the paint’s credibility as a viable art medium? Of course it doesn’t, but it certainly affects the perception the public has of the art medium. And so, consequently, a Facebook page dedicated to saving 5Pointz only has 1,171 likes (meanwhile, “Making up nicknames for people you don’t know but see all the time” has 1,494,837 likes). A petition circling around online to save 5Pointz has 11,000 signatures. How many signatures would that petition have if it were arguing to keep a publicly treasured oil painting from being destroyed? More, I’d bet.

All in all, the news of 5Pointz’s grim fate has upset me. Perhaps nothing will sway the minds of Wolkoff and the members of the Community Board. After all, history repeats itself and, after all, good things don’t seem to last in New York (remember CBGB?). But there are two things that I can do, small as they might be:

1. I urge you to visit 5Pointz while it’s still open. This About.com page contains good directions on how to get there.

2. Allow me to share some of the photos I have from my personal trips to 5Pointz with you.

New York City opens America’s first elevator museum

Going up (or down) to New York? Hit the button for Queens and head to the country’s first elevator museum. Former elevator repairman and collector Patrick Carrajat opened the museum last week to chronicle the history of the American elevator from the oldest Otis elevator in 1861 to an autographed photo from the movie Titanic of the ship’s elevator. Located in Long Island City, the “nexus of the elevator world” for its proximity to elevator companies and many of the city’s subway lines, the one-room museum is full of elevator paraphernalia but mostly serves as a showcase for Mr. Carrajat’s extensive knowledge and stories about his career. He hopes to eventually move the museum into a bigger space with room for an antique elevator.

The free museum is open weekdays and some Saturdays, check www.elevatorhistory.org or call

917-748-2328 for more details.

Want more ideas for a visit to Queens? Check out our Undiscovered New York guide to modern art in Long Island City.

Photo courtesy Flickr user Grevel.

Undiscovered New York: Modern art in Long Island City

It’s no secret New York is downright spoiled by a world-class modern art scene. Art lovers flock to great museums like MoMA, galleries in Chelsea and the famous annual Armory Show. With all this great creativity so close at hand, it’s hard to believe that one of New York’s best neighborhoods for modern art isn’t in Manhattan – it actually lies just across the East River in Long Island City.

Long Island City is a neighborhood on the rebound. Thanks to the nearby Queensboro Bridge, which dumps a steady stream of traffic into the area, this industrial neighborhood was long bypassed by visitors headed toward other points beyond in Manhattan and Long Island. Yet this feeling of a gritty zone time forgot is exactly what attracted the area’s first artists back in the 70’s and 80’s. Slowly, Long Island City began a remarkable transformation, replaced by an influx of artist studios, top-notch museums and monuments to New York’s influential role in street art.

Today, Long Island City is an art lover’s paradise. Ready to check out a less crowded version of Manhattan’s MoMA in Queens and dance at one of the city’s best outdoor dance parties? Or perhaps an outdoor sculpture park with views of the NYC skyline is more your style? It’s time to investigate one of New York’s best (and lesser known) neighborhoods for art. This week Undiscovered New York visits Long Island City. Click below for more.
P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center
Just off the 23rd St – Ely Avenue Subway stop, the first stop from Manhattan, lies P.S.1, one of Long Island City’s best museums and a mecca for up-and-coming artists. First opened in 1976 in a formerly deserted public school building, P.S.1 focuses on the shows of cutting edge art, resulting in an often delightful and eyebrow-raising mixture of works across all types and mediums from sculpture to painting to photography and beyond.

One of the most enjoyable parts of P.S.1 is the museum’s outdoor courtyard, where during the summer it plays host to Warm-Up, a series of outdoor weekend dance parties featuring DJ’s and live music. The backdrop for the party is a colossal ever-changing outdoor sculpture (see left) that is updated each Summer.

Socrates Sculpture Park
Another great reminder of Long Island City’s gritty industrial past is the Socrates Sculpture Park, located along the neighborhood’s East River waterfront. Named in honor of the area’s historically Greek residents, the sculpture park was built on the site of what was once an illegal dumping ground. Today the trash is long gone, having been replaced by large-scale sculptures, outdoor movies and art workshops.

Museum of the Moving Image
Just last week, we told you about New York’s long history with television. But we actually left one great museum out – the Museum of the Moving Image in Long Island City. In addition to galleries of movie and TV equipment, the museum features screenings of landmark movies, and has an extensive collection of costumes, photos and fan magazines. Museum-haters and those with ADD take note: it even has its own video game arcade as part of the exhibitions.