5 Pointz
Originally known as Fun Factory, the building was renamed "5 Pointz" in 2002 after Wolkoff hired the graffiti artist Jonathan Cohen to curate the exterior murals.
[2]: G6 5 Pointz was visible from the New York City Subway's IRT Flushing Line (7 and <7> trains),[3] which passed over the site's far eastern corner.
[2]: G2 According to 5 Pointz' official website, it was considered to be "the world's premier graffiti mecca", where aerosol artists from around the globe painted colorful pieces on the walls of a 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) factory building.
[5] 5 Pointz was described by an About.com contributor in 2008 as "a living collage of graffiti art covering a converted warehouse full of artist studios".
[6] The name "5 Pointz" signifies the five boroughs coming together as one, but, because of its reputation as an epicenter of the graffiti scene, the industrial complex has united aerosol artists from across the world as well.
Writers, including Stay High 149, Tracy 168, Cope2, Part, SPE, Dan Plasma, CORTES, and TATS CRU, have come from Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Japan, Brazil, and all over the United States to paint on the building's walls.
[7] 5 Pointz had also been the subject of articles in newspapers such as The Christian Science Monitor,[7] The Boston Globe,[8] The New York Times,[1] and the International Herald Tribune.
[3][11] After purchasing the property, Wolkoff leased the space to a company that created 8-track tapes, CD covers, phonograph accessories through the early 1990s.
In an effort to legitimize the art movement and set a distance from the negative connotation, he imposed strict rules for future projects.
[21] There was no response from Banksy until October 31, the final day of his residency, when the message posted on his website which accompanied his last piece read, "Thanks for your patience.
"[22] On November 12, 2013, a district court denied a request for a preliminary injunction preventing the destruction of the paintings, with a written opinion soon to follow.
[24] Wolkoff provided images that showed the building's previously graffiti-covered walls partially covered in white paint.
[25] Despite a lawsuit filed by 5 Pointz proprietors, as well as a rally three days prior to gain petition signatures to protect the building from demolition,[26] the sudden whitewashing indicated that it was already gone.
On November 20, the Southern District of New York issued their written opinion stating that while the "Court regrettably had no authority under VARA to preserve 5Pointz as a tourist site," the whitewashing could result in the Wolkoff family having to pay damages to 5 Pointz artists.
[38][39][40] According to an article in Complex magazine in November 2014, some artists felt that they had been disrespected when the murals were painted over, and that they had lost a sense of community with the demolition of the building.
Additionally, the destruction of 5 Pointz resulted in a scarcity of cheap and legal mural spaces, according to one artist interviewed.
[51][52] Wolkoff made a final appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States prior to his death in July 2020, which declined to hear the case that October.
Such videos are usually by several hip-hop and R&B stars, including Doug E. Fresh, Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Caz, Mobb Deep, Rahzel, DJ JS-1, Boot Camp Clik, Joan Jett, and Joss Stone.
[1][4] A parody of the building features in the 2008 videogame Grand Theft Auto IV in the fictional East Island City neighbourhood.
