It seems developers of two new luxury condo towers at the site of the formerly world-famous street art and graffiti site, 5Pointz, in Long Island City, Queens, are looking to preserve some of the building’s gritty history. But the artists whose works were whitewashed and destroyed—and who are still fighting a legal battle about it—are not having it.

The two towers will feature graffiti-style artwork throughout the property, according to reports on DNAinfo and Curbed.com that showed renderings of the new building. The buildings, which are under construction at Jackson Avenue, not far from MoMA PS1, will also have amenities including an indoor pool, a business center, a fitness room, and a lounge with 14-foot high ceilings.

Rendering of new 5Pointz luxury towers. Courtesy of Mojo Stumer Associates.

The firm designing the interiors is Mojo Stumer Associates, which is working on behalf of developer G&M Realty. Artists who used to paint there have called the renovation designs “disrespectful,” DNAinfo reports.

In a statement released by Mojo Stumer, the firm said: “The client requested that graffiti artwork be incorporated throughout the interiors to reflect back on the history of the 5 Pointz neighborhood.”

Rendering of new 5Pointz luxury towers. Courtesy of Mojo Stumer Associates.

An engraved graffiti logo similar to one that 5Pointz artists used in the past, hangs behind the reception desk, the renderings show.

Artist Marie Cecile Flageul, speaking on behalf of a group of 5Pointz artists said: “The disrespect continues. To the 5Pointz community, for him to name the building 5Pointz and to use a mock-up of a logo of ours, we feel the disrespect continues.”

No love in the 5Pointz?
Photo: Eileen Kinsella

G&M Realty owner countered this, saying that the building’s final logo will be different from the one in the renderings, and insisted he has a right to use the 5Pointz name on his project.

“5Pointz was my building. The building was known as 5Pointz, not an individual,” Wolkoff told DNAinfo.