Despite protests from the artists who turned a Long Island industrial complex into a legendary site for street art, G&M Realty, the developers who tore down 5Pointz to build condos, have successfully registered the 5Pointz name in New York state.
“The bottom line is, we’re going to use the name 5Pointz on my buildings,” Jerry Wolkoff, who runs the company with his son David, told DNA Info.
G&M Realty had initially sought to trademark “5Pointz” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, but the name was deemed too similar to an existing registered real estate project.
Ultimately, the effort was “too much of a hassle,” according to Wolkoff, who opted instead for a New York state service mark, which protects companies providing a service, rather than a product.
New York’s historic street art center has been demolished to make way for a housing development
Photo: Jeanmarie Evelly.
Over 2,000 people had signed a petition seeking to stop G&M Realty’s use of the 5Pointz name, which the petition stated was a way of “capitalizing on the fame of 5 Pointz” as a street art landmark. Wolkoff had argued that the name referred to the physical site, not the artworks.
Demolition on the former graffiti mecca began this past August, after the artworks were whitewashed one evening. 5Pointz curator MeresOne told DNAinfo that the act was “the greatest art murder in history.”
Wolkoff gave MeresOne artistic control over the abandoned 5Pointz site in 2002. Over the next 11 years, artists came from all over to add their mark to the ever-evolving display, which transformed the dilapidated buildings into a popular tourist site.
A courtyard area outside the building that is slated to feature spaces for artists.
Photo: HTO Architects.
In June, nine artists whose work was destroyed by the sudden repainting in 2013 sued the developers under the Visual Artists Rights Act, claiming they were not given the opportunity to remove and preserve their art.
In its next incarnation, Wolkoff promises, 5Pointz will harken back to its artistic roots with designated graffiti walls.
Related Stories:
5Pointz Creator Meres One Makes Guest Appearance on ‘Street Art Throwdown’
Take a Look at Jeffrey Deitch’s New Coney Island Street Art Project