Graffiti artists sue developer over the whitewashing and demolition of 5 Pointz in Long Island City

2017-10-23T13:18:00-04:00

Wolkoff granted permission to artists to paint on the building in 1993, when Long Island City wasn’t hot property....Fast forward to 2013, New York real estate was exploding. The building’s location was highly desirable.

5 Pointz, located in Long Island City, was an American mural space considered to be the world's premier graffiti mecca. Bought by developer Jerry Wolkoff in 1971, the building's exterior was graffitied over with a myriad of street art when Wolkoff started leasing space as artists' studios in the 90s.

As property values in the area started to rise, Wolkoff made the controversial decision in 2013 to stealthily whitewash the graffiti. The building was demolished shortly thereafter to make room for two luxury high-rises. To make matters worse, the new high-rises were to incorporate street art into the decor, gaining clout from the same history of the site it sought to destroy.

Firing back, a group of 20 New York street artists are in federal court this week fighting Wolkoff and his companies. The muralists are arguing that based on the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990, Wolkoff should not have destroyed the structure without permission and proper notice. Due to the international statu...

Stahl House documentary plagued by extortion, suicide, and lawsuits

2016-05-19T16:57:00-04:00

The Los Angeles Business Journal reports in this week's issue that the filmmaker, Steven Slomkowski, sought to get out of the project after the suicide of Mark Stahl, one of three siblings who control the property, also renowned in architecture lore as Case Study Home #22. Slomkowski sued in 2014, alleging that the surviving siblings, Bruce and Shari Stahl, got cold feet over depictions of Mark and their late father, Buck. The Stahls countersued...

When it's not involved in documentary-driven legal feuds, the iconic Stahl House frequently serves as a backdrop for a variety of fictional films, including Atom Egoyan's "Where The Truth Lies," and "Galaxy Quest:"

For more on the intersection between architecture and cinema:

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Graffiti artists sue developer over the whitewashing and demolition of 5 Pointz in Long Island City

Stahl House documentary plagued by extortion, suicide, and lawsuits