Five Pointz graffiti center, one of the largest collections of street art in the world, will be demolished by the end of this year in order to put up two residential towers, according to the Long Island City Post.
“Five Pointz was a really awesome experience that my Arts in New York City class told me to go to,” says City College Macaulay freshman Lisa Guerrera. “It was cool to see all the different artwork and it’s the type of thing you don’t really get to experience anywhere but New York.”
Plans for the new buildings are supposed to include allotted spaces for graffiti artists to post their work, which is relieving news for many New Yorkers. Five Pointz attracts tourists and graffiti artists from all over New York to Long Island City.
Macaulay freshman Claudia Donofrio says, “I constantly passed Five Pointz my entire life and it’s hard to imagine it not being there anymore.”
Many Macaulay students, as well as New Yorkers, view Five Pointz as a major cultural symbol in the city. Some see the work as art, while others see it as vandalism. Either way, the compilation of graffiti is a representation of the street culture from all “five points” of the city.
“It’s a shame the building is being torn down,” says Guerrera. “It’s one of those rare kinds of culture that really sticks with you.”
