Long Island City’s ‘5Pointz’ building has long been a haven for artists, and has served as New York’s best example of graffiti for many decades. All that is about to change, as the site is slated for demolition by the end of 2013, and two new residential towers containing 1,000 new units will be rising on the site.

From The Gazette via Vinniebar on Wikipedia

The site is primed for revelopment, located adjacent to the Court Square subway station in Long Island City. With so many connections merely feet away, redevelopment makes sense. Some may see the warehouse as an eyesore, but many New Yorkers feel the building adds enormous character to a neighborhood that is currently sterile. In a sea of blank walls and plain glass, the graffiti mecca is a pleasant contrast.

Regardless of appearance, it’s difficult to argue the actual buildings themselves don’t look derelict. What replaces 5Pointz is likely to be bland and glassy, but the developers have made arrangements for new public space in the redevelopment that will be usable by artists.

The razing of 5Pointz is to be expected given the broader changes now occurring in Long Island City. Although most recent development has been closer to the waterfront, the ‘Link LIC’ apartment building is downtown and just recently reached its roof height of roughly 40 stories, and there are dozens of smaller projects ongoing.

Renderings of the proposed 41 and 47 story towers have yet to be released, but the least the developer could do would be to build something as eye-catching as 5Pointz. Given the location is Long Island City, that’s probably not going to happen, and the likely product will only add to LIC’s collection of banal housing. Nonetheless, something like ‘Silvercup West’–the long-stalled project on the waterfront–is always possible, and would be a welcome surprise.

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