photos by leslie loudspeaker

This month I was fortunate enough to be near Queens, NY to see the famed street art Mecca before it was torn down to be turned into condos. The place had a couple guys taking pics of their cars up on the sidewalk, and you had to get out of the way of delivery trucks (the place still has companies doing business inside), but otherwise it was fairly empty and magical. The owner whitewashed the building last Tuesday, saying it would break his heart to see the art go down with the building, an excuse not very well-received. Recent news is that he may have to pay damage costs to the artists, and numerous people have been arrested for tagging the white washed building. End of an era.

For decades artists came here to legally paint on the walls, from elaborate bubble letters to giant Biggie murals, the styles displayed on the place reached far in variation. Leased to a company that made 8-tracks then cd covers, the digital world left business slowing down, and art then going up.

Since Banksy was in town when I went, I was on the hunt. I had a mini heart attack when I saw this little boy with dynamite stencil, thinking I’d found one early. Alas, upon closer inspection, it had been there for awhile. Anyone know who did this?

Luckily, I was near Coney Island and managed to get a pic with the Banksy piece that day an hour before they put a metal gate over it. Street art is temporary, get out there!

What 5 Pointz looks like now: whitewashed 5 Pointz