New York’s international graffiti mecca 5 Pointz was erased overnight when the paintings were buffed over on the orders of the property's owners.  The five-story warehouse complex in Queens, which has hosted a curated selection of graffiti since 2002, was a popular gathering place for art fans; its murals were a familiar sight to New York subway passengers as they passed through the Long Island City neighborhood. But in August, city officials granted Jerry and David Wolkoff, who own the building, permission to demolish the site.  The surprise overnight whitewash brought condemnation from artists, fans and volunteers who had gathered at the spot on Tuesday, many in tears.  “What’s super disrespectful is that the whole thing about 5 Pointz is: it’s legal painting," said 5 Pointz volunteer Rebekah Kennedy. "For someone to come in and wash it away … that's the biggest vandal."  She said that before the destruction, volunteers had been working on a way to preserve the art or the building as a landmark. “To just take it away is the biggest 'fuck you' that can happen,” Kennedy said.  On Tuesday afternoon, volunteers taped large pieces of white to the walls inside the building’s loading dock center, where halal cart workers were still driving in and out of the yard. People had taken markers to the signs in tribute: “We played by the rules,” read one. Another bore a quote from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, which was delivered 150 years ago, today: “We are met on a great battlefield of that war.”  Owner Jerry Wolkoff defended the overnight destruction in an interview with NBC 4 New York. "I can imagine going one piece, one piece, and going through hell, torture to everybody," he said. "So I said, 'Let me do it one time and end this torture one time,’” he said. He compared the action to forcing a child to take medicine.  "In the new building we're going to let them come back, and it's going to be similar and better," Wolkoff said, explaining that the new building will have a 60-foot wraparound wall for graffiti. "They're upset with me now, but it's the right thing for both of us.”  He later expanded his defence in an interview with New York magazine: "I told the police to be there. The last thing I wanted was any confrontation. I didn't want any of them to be arrested. I have so much respect for them. It's my building, I can paint on it. I would feel terrible if someone got arrested."  Comedy writer Joe Garden, who passes the spot on his way to work, called the destruction "an abomination" and said it "really seems spiteful and unnecessary, verging on cruel".  Confirmed 5 Pointz graffiti Mecca was painted over last night pic.twitter.com/tweDokQR2Y  Painting over 5 Pointz before tearing it down is one of the most artistically and culturally disrespectful moves I've seen in a while. Damn.  Danny Simmons, a gallery owner and artist who testified in a lawsuit brought by 5 Pointz representatives, said the building has been “a repository of hip-hop history and a place of beauty and wonder”. Simmons is the older brother of hip-hop mogul Russell, and Joseph, or Rev Run, of Run DMC, and all three were closely tied to the rise of hip-hop culture.  Danny Simmons said: “It’s been a major tourist attraction for the city – a place where young and old could go for free and let their imaginations run wild. It was an inspiration to art’s free spirit and spoke volumes to artists like myself about color and form. With the painting over and razing of this building, the arts and NYC has been sorely diminished. It will be missed, but the spirit of art for and by the people lives on.”  Artists have been painting on the property since the early 1990s, with permission from the Wolkoffs. But the owners decided in 2010 to demolish the building to make room for two luxury residential towers.  5 Pointz representatives, led by curator Jonathan Cohen, also known as Meres One, had been at odds with the Wolkoffs for several years after an artist was seriously injured in 2009 when an outdoor staircase broke. New York’s building department ordered the largest structure in the complex to close following the incident, but in mid-October the building was still standing.  Since the city granted the property owners permission to demolish the building, Meres and fellow curator Marie Cecile Flageul have been fighting a losing battle. With a band of other graffiti artists, 5 Pointz launched a lawsuit against the Wolkoffs, but federal district judge Frederic Block ruled last week in the Wolkoffs' favour.  On Saturday, the 5 Pointz crew held what would be the final rally to preserve the building. There were also plans to appeal Block’s decision, and petitions from around the world were submitted in support.  The decision to paint over the murals comes just after Banksy held a month-long New York residency in October, which ended with him writing a brief comment on his website to "Save 5 Pointz."
Artworks at Queens graffiti site buffed over at the behest of the property owners, who want to pull it down to build luxury condos