The city bails out artist conglomerate from being gentrified out again.

Queens Post 

The group also announced that it has purchased space in a new development that is part of the Hunters Point South mega development. It has bought space on the ground floor of the South Tower at Gotham Point, a two-tower development that is going up at 57-28 2nd St. The non-profit will be calling the space “Flux IV.”

The terms of the two deals were not disclosed.

Representatives of the Flux Factory said the purchases will help sustain the organization’s core programs, exhibitions and collaborative opportunities with other artists. The acquisitions were funded by the City, via allocations provided by Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, the Queens Borough President’s Office and the Dept. of Cultural Affairs.

Nat Roe, the executive director of Flux Factory, said the purchases represent major milestones for the non-profit since it has looked to buy its own premises for years.

Flux Factory was founded in Williamsburg in 1994 and moved to Sunnyside in 2002 due to rising costs. In 2009 the organization then moved to its 29th Street location.

“We’ve constantly faced the threat of displacement, compromising our ability to support and promote artists most effectively,” Roe said.

The Dutch Kills building is 9,000 square feet and its acquisition will ensure the non-profit continues to host its “artist-in resident” program. This program provides artists with the ability to live on site while they develop their creative work.

The space consists of 16 private studios and 8 common workspaces for art production. It also includes a 1,400 square foot gallery where residents develop art exhibitions across a wide range of disciplines such as painting, poetry, literary, spoken word and sound art. The building also includes living space.

Meanwhile, the Flux IV location will be 3,000 square feet in size and is scheduled to open next summer. It will serve as a satellite space for the organization.

5 Pointz hits the jackpot, judge rules against Wolkoff

Artnet
 
In a sweeping 32-page decision eviscerating the legal arguments of a disgruntled Queens real estate developer, a US Appeals Court affirmed the rights and monetary damages awarded to a group of graffiti artists whose works were destroyed without warning or consent in 2013.

The artists sued the developer, Gerald Wolkoff, in 2013 for violating their rights after he whitewashed their work at the famous 5Pointz graffiti art mecca in New York to make way for condos. A jury ruled in favor of the artists in November 2017, but it was up to a judge to determine the extent of the damages.

In February 2018, Brooklyn Supreme Court judge Frederick Block awarded the artists a total $6.75 million in a landmark decision. The sum included $150,000—the maximum legal penalty—for each of the 45 destroyed works at the center of the case.

The trial was a key test of the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA), which grants visual artists certain “moral rights” for their work. Previous VARA cases rarely made it to trial, and were instead settled privately.

But the act, which was added to copyright laws in 1990, disallows the modification of works in ways that could be considered harmful to artists’ reputations, and grants protections to artworks deemed to be of “recognized stature.”

In his appeal, Wolkoff challenged practically every aspect of the decision by Judge Block, from the amount of the award, to the suggestion that the graffiti murals at 5Pointz merited protection under the “recognized stature” clause.

But Wolkoff was rebuffed on all points in the latest ruling, and the court took the additionally extraordinary step of citing his own lawyers against him. “Wolkoff’s own expert acknowledged that temporary artwork can achieve recognized stature,” according to the decision.

The ruling also took Wolkoff to task for making misrepresentations about how his business would have been harmed if he did not move to immediately whitewash the works. In his arguments, Wolkoff claimed that certain tax credits available to him would have expired if he did not move quickly to paint over the works.

Yet he did not even have a demolition permit for the building when he began his campaign to cover up the murals.

Congratulations 5 Pointz, you all earned every penny from this disingenuous arrogant jerk.

QCA wants artists' housing, but Katz wants a soccer stadium

I went to the Queens Borough President’s office today to pitch affordable housing for artists. They’re building a soccer stadium.

— Kelly Olshan (@KellyOlshan) June 22, 2018

And there you have it.

$6.7M awarded to 5 Pointz artists by federal judge

From PIX11:

A New York judge has awarded $6.7 million to graffiti artists who sued after their work was destroyed on buildings torn down to make room for luxury condos.

Federal Judge Frederic Block in Brooklyn noted Monday there was no remorse from the owner of the warehouse buildings. Long Island Developer Jerry Wolkoff allowed the painting for decades on the property.

In November 2017 during a three-week trial, twenty-one aerosol artists sued the owner of a Long Island City, Queens site known as 5Pointz.

The case was based on the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990. That federal law allows artists "to prevent any destruction of a work of recognized stature, and any intentional or grossly negligent destruction of that work"

The judge said he would not have assessed so much in damages if the owner had awaited his permits and demolished the art 10 months later than he did. Wolkoff ordered crews to whitewash the building one night. Wolkoff tells PIX11 News he plans to appeal the ruling.

Block said he hoped the award would give teeth to a federal law that should have kept Wolkoff from demolishing them for at least 10 months, when he had all his permits.

Artists then could have easily rescued some paintings from siding, plywood or sheet-rock before the rollers, spray machines and buckets of white paint arrived.

"Wolkoff has been singularly unrepentant. He was given multiple opportunities to admit the whitewashing was a mistake, show remorse, or suggest he would do things differently if he had another chance," Block said.

"Wolkoff could care less. As he callously testified," the judge said. "The sloppy, half-hearted nature of the whitewashing left the works easily visible under thin layers of cheap, white paint, reminding the plaintiffs on a daily basis what had happened. The mutilated works were visible by millions of people on the passing 7 train."

Jury sides with 5 Pointz

From Curbed:

A jury has concluded that 5 Pointz developer Jerry Wolkoff violated the law when he whitewashed that buildings without warning, erasing graffiti from dozens of artists. The jury’s findings will serve as a recommendation to the lawsuit’s presiding judge, who will then render a final verdict, reports the New York Times.

“The jury sided strongly with the rights of the artists. This is a clear message from the people that the whitewashing of the buildings by its owner was a clear and willful act,” said lawyer Eric Baum, who represents the artists that filed the suit.

The judge will ultimately determine the repercussions of Wolkoff’s actions, which could include making him pay the artists for destroying their artwork.

5Pointz heading to court

From the NY Times:

This is no vandalism case in a criminal courthouse, but rather a federal lawsuit filed in 2013 by the 23 artists who painted regularly at 5Pointz, against its owner, Jerry Wolkoff, who ordered the artwork destroyed.

The artists scored an incremental legal victory on March 31 when Judge Frederic Block of Federal District Court in Brooklyn ruled that their case could have a jury trial.

The plaintiffs hope it could become a landmark case. Celebrity artists like Banksy have gained prominence in recent years, and street art — whether spray painted, stenciled or wheat-pasted — has gained increasing respect and value, even when created on walls not owned by the artists.

The ruling sets up the fascinating scene of a trial in which art experts could be called to weigh in on the integrity of what court papers call “aerosol art,” and to evaluate the graffiti artists themselves. Evidence will include articles on 5Pointz, a building complex along Jackson Avenue in Long Island City that was covered with spray-painted murals by top street artists from New York and around the world.

Painting with Mr. Wolkoff’s permission, artists had turned the spot into an international graffiti mecca, an exhibition space and conservatory.

Preparing to build high rises on the property in 2013, Mr. Wolkoff faced opposition from the artists, who sought to block the demolition. He hired a crew that painted over the murals under cover of night, then left the building sitting for months until it was knocked down in 2014.

The judge’s ruling offers the artists a chance to confront Mr. Wolkoff in court and to seek redress for painting over their work, said Jonathan Cohen, an artist who had curated the murals and helped organize the artists at 5Pointz since 2002.

Mr. Cohen said he was hopeful that the suit might become a landmark case to establish street art as legitimate contributions worthy of protection.

Dangerfield widow upset over mural appearance

From NY1:

Before he became famous, comedian Rodney Dangerfield grew up in Kew Gardens, Queens. He graduated from Richmond Hill High School.

His link to this community is celebrated with a mural, painted last year, around the corner from Lefferts Blvd.

Italian artist Francesca Robicci painted the mural for free, working from a photo provided by Dangerfield's widow, Joan.

But Joan Dangerfield, who donated $1,000 toward the project, is unhappy how it turned out.

She says her late husband still gets no respect.

Her lawyer wrote Robicci and the community group that commissioned the mural to complain. The lawyer called the painting "an entirely unaccptable image" and a "less-than-flattering portrayal of Rodney, who deserves nothing but the highest respect."

The lawyer demanded that it be painted over.

Robicci says she'll wililng to make any necessary changes, which would mean flying in from Italy.

Joan Dangerfield's lawyer now tells NY1 she is happy to hear of the artist's offer. The two sides, the lawyer tells us, will talk privately to see if a compromise is possible.

Hipsters moving to Detroit

From the NY Times:

“Detroit, Just West of Bushwick,” read the first billboard that popped up in Bushwick, Brooklyn, this spring, with a working class scene from one of Diego Rivera’s “Detroit Industry” murals. “Detroit, Be Left Alone,” a second one preached soon after, again in Bushwick. And then a third sign appeared, in two locations in Brooklyn and two in Manhattan — “Detroit: Now Hiring.”

No one quite knew where they were coming from or who had put them up.

But when an unrelated photo popped up on Instagram — “Move to Detroit” spray-painted on a girder of the Brooklyn Bridge — the campaign’s anonymous crusader finally revealed himself.

“I rent billboard spaces where others don’t see value. That is how I saw Detroit on my first visit four years ago,” said Philip Kafka, the 28-year-old man who then put his passion behind the billboards with his SoHo-based company, Prince Media. “I saw great buildings, a deep and rich cultural history, and met amazing people.”

He now owns six buildings in the Motor City, one of which will house his new restaurant, Katoi, across the street from Detroit’s most photographed “ruin porn,” the Michigan Central Station. “I want people to know that in Detroit you can afford to make art, be a chef, buy houses, start a business, do anything if you work hard,” he said.

It is now well-documented that some of Brooklyn’s much-written-about creative class is being driven out of the borough by high prices and low housing stock. Some are going to Los Angeles (or even Queens), but others are migrating to the Midwest, where Detroit’s empty industrial spaces, community-based projects, experimental art scene and innovative design opportunities beckon, despite the city’s continuing challenges.

“Brooklyn lost its whole sense of adventure for me,” said Ben Wolf, 31, a Pratt Institute graduate who, after more than a decade in New York, moved to Detroit almost three years ago to continue creating his site-specific installations and sculptures, made from rotten boards, rusty stairwells and peeling paint, or as he said, “the decadence of abandonment.”

What to do with an ugly construction fence

From DNA Info:

One Long Island City resident has found a way to jazz up one of the city's most ubiquitous eyesores: construction scaffolding.

Chris Carlson was looking for a way to make his surroundings a little more cheery after a wall of scaffolding was erected a little over a year ago, next door to his home on 47th Road, where a developer is building a new apartment complex.

The 43-year-old said he first got permission from construction workers at the site to paint the scaffolding a vibrant blue, and then took to regularly decorating the plywood with posters and funky art.

Pink statue triggers legislation

LIC Post

From DNA Info:

The City Council passed a bill Thursday that will require public hearings before some public art projects can be installed.

The legislation was introduced by Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer earlier this year after outcry over a plan to erect a pink sculpture on Jackson Avenue and 43rd Avenue under the Department of Cultural Affair's Percent for Art program.

Some criticized the piece and its $515,000 price tag, spurring the councilman to draft a bill that would require plans for Percent for Art pieces be presented at a public hearing or community board meeting so residents can weigh in.

The guidelines for the program already require projects to be presented to local community boards before they're installed, according to a DCA spokesman.

But Van Bramer's bill legally mandates the public hearings, requires the city to notify the public in advance about it's plans and advertise public meetings at least two weeks before they take place.

What the...?

I'm not sure what this is about, but it's exceedingly weird. Perfect for an April Fool post. Found in fabulous Flushing.

Pink sculpture not popular

From PIX 11:

On Wednesday night, it was a packed town hall meeting at MOMA PS1 in Long Island City, Queens. The town hall addressed many topics including affordable housing for artists, and also a sculpture slated to go up on Jackson Avenue.

One speaker said, “I think it’s an amazingly interesting piece of art, I think the location should have been discussed a little more in depth before the decision was made.”

According to a spokesperson for city’s Department of Cultural Affairs, the sculpture is slated to go up on Jackson Avenue near 43rd Avenue in Long Island City, Queens, a public art project with a price tag of $515,000 funded by city capital dollars. The sculpture is called “The Sunbather.”

Quirky artistic Rockaway bus shelters may be demolished

From DNA Info:

A historic bus shelter that survived Hurricane Sandy may face the wrecking ball to accommodate a new park and protective sand dune, according to a local civic group and the Parks Department.

The Parks Department plans to rebuild a greenspace destroyed by the 2012 storm near Beach 107th Street, called Sandpiper playground, a spokeswoman for the department said.

But they are also exploring the possibility of demolishing an adjacent bus shelter to fit the park and the dune, which is part of the push to protect the peninsula from future storms.

"The goal of the reconstruction of Sandpiper playground is to make it a more resilient facility and to include the recreational amenities that the community is looking for," spokeswoman Meghan Lalor said.

The shelter on Beach 107th Street features a group of surfers riding different waves, and is entitled "Surf's Up."

It and three others on Shore Front Parkway were designed by Robert Moses for the 1939 World's Fair, and renovated by artist Esther Grillo in 1997, according to a 2003 article published in The Wave.

Queens Museum wants to host bank robber's art

From the NY Post:

He robbed banks, saying it was for “art” — and now the curator of the taxpayer-funded Queens Museum wants to honor him.

Nutty Professor Joe Gibbons — who videotaped himself ripping off banks as part of a bizarre “art project” — has snagged the prestigious invitation from the Queens Museum to show off his felonious film project.

The curator of the institution — which used $57.5 million in public money to expand — can’t wait to give a forum to this alleged public enemy, who is facing serious robbery charges.

“Once he is released, I hope to help him by extending an invitation to screen his work at the Queens Museum,” curator Larissa Harris gushed in a letter to a Manhattan judge. “This would be an enormous honor for us.”

Ridgewood warehouse to be turned into artists' studios

From Brownstoner Queens:

A tipster recently passed along news that the four-story warehouse at 46-55 Metropolitan Avenue — right next door to the popular Ridgewood restaurant Bun-Ker — is slated to become artist studios. The tip was confirmed by a contact listed on this Department of Buildings application, which specifies an “interior renovation with partition works on 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor.” (Requests to the actual building owner went unanswered.) We couldn’t get any more specifics, except that the warehouse will be converted into commercial spaces for artistic use.

Hundreds more gentrifiers will soon be on their way to Ridgewood

From Crains:

A developer that has long focused on emerging markets in Manhattan and the outer boroughs released renderings Tuesday of its latest endeavor—the largest residential project underway in Ridgewood, Queens. The project, being built by Essex Capital, will be tailored to creative-class New Yorkers priced out of Brooklyn and Manhattan.

The firm has already begun construction on the 90-unit building at 16-14 and 16-26 Madison St., between Myrtle and Wyckoff avenues. Construction will run through summer of 2016.

The property will include a WeWork-style business center designed for renters who work from home (and are largely associated with trendy neighborhoods like Williamsburg), but Essex Capital founder Mitchell Rutter does not want to jump on the Queens-is-the-new-Brooklyn bandwagon.

"We view Ridgewood as having an separate identity and a separate desirability from whatever places like Bushwick are offering," said Mr. Rutter, a 1996 Crain’s 40 Under 40.

Though it is undeniably undergoing gentrification, Ridgewood has a more established working-class residential and retail community than do the gritty former industrial areas of Williamsburg and northern Bushwick that have seen a wave of new residential development. In addition, large swaths of Ridgewood are landmarked, meaning opportunities for new development are limited.

I guess we've given up on keeping artists in the neighborhoods they originally moved to and now have to build more affordable housing (which will be unaffordable as soon as it is completed) to attract them to other areas.

Protest art against wasteful spending in LIC

From DNA Info:

A $515,000 plan to erect a sculpture of a pink reclining figure by artist Ohad Meromi on Jackson Avenue as part of a public art program, has drawn fire from some residents, with one of them creating a protest sculpture of their own.

An angular structure painted with vibrant colors and wooden hearts appeared this week on Jackson Avenue near 23rd Street, near where the Department of Cultural Affairs is planning to install Meromi's sculpture on on Jackson Avenue at 43rd Avenue, appeared this week.

A sign on it critiqued the cost of the city's project, which it identified as $450,000, though city officials say it will actually run $515,000.

"This is not against the artist. It is against the misuse of our tax dollars," the sign on the protest sculpture read.

"It cost $350 dollars to make this sculpture which we are donating to Long Island City and there are many local artists that would do the same so this money could be spent on something constructive like education."

It's unclear who was responsible for the piece, which was placed on the sidewalk on Jackson Avenue near the Court Square subway station.

Weird statue to be placed somewhere in LIC

From LIC Post:

The Department of Cultural Affairs is close to erecting a bright pink, 8 ½ feet tall sculpture on Jackson Avenue.

The artwork would be located there permanently and the cost to taxpayers would be about $450,000. Furthermore, the owners of the adjacent sites have not been notified — which is typical for this type of a artwork since it is part of city program.

The Department of Cultural Affairs through its ‘Percent for Art’ initiative has selected an artist to create the piece and it is a long way in the process of getting it approved. The artwork is called “The Sunbather” which is likely to be placed on the grass median by the crosswalk near 43rd Avenue.

Public inclusion in the process has been limited—with the organization electing not to share the rendering with the greater public or with this news site. It also won’t put the rendering up online until it is approved.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And in this beholder's opinion, it looks like a bunch of wadded up bubblegum.

Is Jamaica where the artists want to be?

From the Times Ledger:

Jamaica may provide the stage artists are scouring the city for, one study suggests.

An 18-month analysis on art workspace in Queens by Exploring the Metropolis Inc., which connects artists and performance facilities in the city, found Jamaica is ripe for an artistic revival.

David Johnson, Exploring the Metropolis’ executive director, told the Greater Jamaica Development Corp. at its quarterly meeting last week that the neighborhood could take steps to bolster its attractiveness to artists, including soliciting an affordable loft development.

“Jamaica is so well-positioned in terms of transit, it just seems like low hanging fruit,” Johnson told nearly 50 peopled gathered in the Harvest Room Oct. 15. “With the upcoming development, it’s a great opportunity to really focus on artists’ live-work space, find the space, find the developers who can do this.”

Johnson noted an East Harlem school that was transformed into a 90-unit live-work development for working artists received 53,000 applications.

“Clearly, there is a demand for this,” he said.

The Greater Jamaica Development Corp. leaders expressed interest in buttressing the area’s creative capital, saying it spurs economic development and personal fulfillment.

New artwork along 7 line

From Sunnyside Post:

The rooftop sign above Sunnyside Community Services is in for a makeover.

The sign, which is currently covered by graffiti, will be replaced with a 7-color mural that will feature a steam engine train and the word Sunnyside in large letters.

The new mural will help revitalize the rooftop at SCS and will be visible to 7 train riders going between the 33rd and 40th Street stations.

The mural has been designed by Mark Salinas, a local artist, who did the Rise N Shine painting on the corner of 42nd Street and 48th Avenue last year.

Salinas formed an organization last year, called 7Train Murals, that is dedicated to beautifying the neighborhoods along the 7 train line in Queens.