Notorious B.I.G. Mural About to Be Destroyed, Bed-Stuy Building Owner Says

[CEITEDMOFO]

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — A two-story mural of Bed-Stuy’s hometown hero Notorious B.I.G. is slated to be destroyed after the owner of the building on which it’s painted prepares to renovate, according to the landlord and and the mural’s artists.

The mural, located on a building at Bedford Avenue and Quincy Street, has drawn tourists and hip-hop heads since it was painted in 2015, but now the landlord, Samuel Berkowitz, said he needs to remove it in order to add new windows.

In a telephone interview Thursday, Berkowitz said he saw no reason to keep the mural.

“Let me rephrase the question: Why should I keep it?” he said. “I don’t even see the point of the discussion. I could demolish the building if I wanted to, I don’t need no permission from anyone except the DOB.”

Berkowitz declined to discuss the matter further, and it was not immediately clear when the mural would be removed. He secured permits in March for the work, which includes a gut renovation of the second floor and the addition of two windows to the wall with the mural, Department of Buildings records show.

In an Instagram post by Spread Art NYC, a collective affiliated with the mural’s artists Naoufal “Rocko” Alaoui and Scott "Zimer" Zimmerman, the group said Berkowitz had offered to keep the mural up in exchange for $1,200 a month, but said the collective would be unable to sustain the cost.




The group bemoaned the mural’s imminent demise, but hoped to keep the spirit of the painting alive.

“We always say, Brooklyn is Biggie and Biggie is Brooklyn,” read the caption. “A landlord can NEVER change that!”

As news of the mural’s planned takedown spread, fans of the work took to social media to decry what some described as the march of gentrification.

“Do not allow them to continue to destroy Brooklyn as we know it,” wrote one Instagram user. “What Brooklyn was once known for is quickly fading away.”

Biggie Mural About to Be Destroyed, Bed-Stuy Building Owner Says



https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170518/bed-stuy/bed-stuy-biggie-mural-to-be-removed

 

[Hater]

I mean, It's his building

 

[StretfordRed]

Unless Puff buys the building

 

[RAW_SPK]

Unless Puff buys the building

Him or Hov should as a petty stunt

 

[mson]

Just paint it on another building.

 

[smokeurobinson]

“Let me rephrase the question: Why should I keep it?” he said. “I don’t even see the point of the discussion. I could demolish the building if I wanted to, I don’t need no permission from anyone except the DOB.” Berkowitz declined to discuss the matter further,




Dude is all business.....You can tell he probably made up the story about renovating because of the neighbors who complained but switched it up by saying 'OK if ya'll want it that bad pay the rent', knowing up front Hip Hop fans love Biggie but not like that. So he wins.....He gets to please his neighbors and he has no guilt tearing it down because he gave the hip hop fans the opportunity to keep it if they really wanted it.

 

[yardman]

I wonder how many murals will be left after gentrification is at 80% - 100%
And not just BK, I mean everywhere in the country.
Cacs will probably turn black landmarks into tourist attractions when we're totally gone.
On some this is where the n****** used to live.


​

 

[OJ Simpsom]

Just paint the Mural somewhere else. There's millions of brick walls in Brooklyn.

 

[Figaro]

Murals of Biggie Smalls, bigger then life

 

[The Intergalactic Koala]

I know it's all business dawg nothing personal, but you rarely see murals anymore...especially on the level like this. It just seems like street art is almost to extinction in favor of turning cities into soulless wonders. Nevermind the fact that it's Biggie on the wall, but on an artist level, it's a pretty astonishing portrait of one of the greatest rappers of all time.

But hey more windows and Starbucks to keep the city flowing I suppose

 

[Guvnor]

I know I might catch flack for this but as much as I like the piece of art, I could see why the landlord would want to open the windows or remove it if his white residents are mad about the crowds it creates. It's his building and he may be facing trouble with the art being on it.

With that said, the artist should move it somewhere else and make it a land mark to avoid this shyt in the future.

 

[Fart Knocker]

lol at yall defending a mural done by art school students who have never painted illegally in new york. there a numerous legendary black graffiti writers who are from that neighborhood who have painted the city illegally for years, yet they got some art school dudes instead. ya'll sound like the hipsters you claim to hate so much

 

[Fart Knocker]

I wonder how many murals will be left after gentrification is at 80% - 100%
And not just BK, I mean everywhere in the country.
Cacs will probably turn black landmarks into tourist attractions when we're totally gone.
On some this is where the n****** used to live.


​

lol at defending murals in the hood. those murals are done by hipsters and gentifiers. all the talented black vandals in nyc and you want to support cac hipster art

 

[DontEemTry]

I mean instead of nikkas gettin mad they could just get together and pay for the mural to stay up.

But you know nikkas is all talk.

 

[PhonZhi]

Thought it was some shyt that's been up for 20 years