The "King of NY" mural that stretches up two-stories on Bedford Avenue and Quincy in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn will be taken down.
Painted in 2015 by artists Naoufal “Rocko” Alaoui and Scott “Zimer” Zimmerman, the mural of the legendary Notorious B.I.G has been a must see for tourists, native New Yorkers, and every hip-hop head visiting the city. But now it seems all that will be coming to an end.
First reported by DNAinfo, landlord Samuel Berkowitz has decided to remove the mural to add more windows to his building, thus increasing the property value. Berkowitz had this to say via a phone interview with the periodical, “Why should I keep it?” he continued, “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.”
There have been a number of attempts to protect the mural. Spread Art NYC, an art collective supporting the mural’s artists said that Berkowitz offered to keep it up for $1,250 a month. However, despite having the support of the community, the cost are to high to maintain.
There’s a petition making its rounds attempting to have the building placed under protection as a historic landmark by the Landmarks and Preservation Commission. There's no telling if the latest attempt will save the mural, but many have lambasted the landlord's decision as another attempt to further gentrify and reshape the borough.
