New Developments in the News
MARCH 14, 2011
Residential mega-development planned for LIC 5 Pointz street art site; Herald Square plaza plans scrapped to appease local businesses.
The instantly-recognizable Long Island City warehouse known as 5 Pointz—with its colorful rear surface covered with elaborate graffiti—was rezoned in 2001 for large-scale development, and its owner, Jerry Wolkoff, recently announced plans to develop the building into a $300 million residential project that would include studio space for artists, an open-air concourse, a supermarket, shopping and restaurants in addition to two residential towers. The building and surrounding site have long been a magnet for street artists, and Jonathan Cohen, founder of the 5 Pointz collective, describes it as “…not just any other building with graffiti on it…the epicenter for graffiti artists from all over the world.” Though Wolkoff himself was responsible for creating the current street artists’ mecca by dividing the main structure to carve out 90 artists’ studios and a handful of manufacturing spaces, the redevelopment is expected to effectively end the building’s run as a dedicated art space.
The city has decided to cancel plans to restrict some Midtown streets for exclusive use by non-motorists and close 34th Street between Fifth Avenue and Herald Square to all traffic except buses. The city’s decision to dump the aforementioned plaza plan reflects resistance from merchants who felt that dedicated bus lanes would block their businesses and traffic restrictions would snarl traffic in the area even more.
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