Street artists are mourning the loss of graffiti mecca 5Pointz, located in Long Island City, Queens, which was painted white early Tuesday morning. The building’s extensive work of art, which was internationally renowned, is now gone.

The owners of the building are tearing down the building and creating two new apartment complexes. City Council approved Jerry Wolkoff and his son David’s plans in October.

Jerry Wolkoff said of painting over the art between the hours of 3-8am, “I didn’t want any confrontation. It’s torturous.”

Daily News notes the artists who worked on the building filed request to block the building from being torn down under the Visual Artists Rights Act. Despite Federal Judge Federic Block denying their request, an attorney for 5Pointz artists are going forward with their case.

Jerry Wolkoff isn’t happy, noting he’s allowed them to graffiti on the building for decades. “No good deed goes unpunished. In all the years, I've never had a cross word with any of them. I love what they did,” he said.

One artist who lives in Long Island City said of the white paint, “This is vandalism.”

Twitter account StreetArtNews posted:

image: Wikimedia Commons