New York, November 19 – The facade of the iconic building « 5pointz «, considered « the graffiti Mecca » worldwide by artists of the genre, was painted overnight for a group of workers and the owner of the building with police protection.

The decision, taken by the building owner, Jerry Wolkoff, ends a legal battle for years, in which graffiti advocates tried to stop the building was demolished for the construction of two residential towers.

Located in the neighborhood of Long Island City, Queens County, the building became for 12 years a huge canvas for about 1,500 graffiti artists who constantly added and modified parts.

However, this morning, the building awoke covered by a layer of white paint, as the first step for the construction of a residential complex of $400 million. The demolition of the current building is scheduled for later this year.

In an interview with New York magazine, Wolkoff said in an apologetic tone that he loved the graffiti from the building and during the paining process he spilled some » tears «.
To compensate, he promised to allocate a 20-meter wall of their new buildings, which would be completed in 2015 or 2016, in order to keep graffiti artists a new space on their properties.

But there is no compensation possible for destroying ART.