
Gentrifiers thought they were about to take the chip when it was reported a Brooklyn landlord was planning to remove a mural of Biggie Smalls from the side of a building in order to add more windows and raise the rent.
The mural, done by Spread Art NYC, was placed on Samuel Berkowitz’s Bed Stuy building located on the corner of Bedford Avenue and Quincy Street. Berkowitz maintained he received complaints from several tenants who said the mural of The Life After Death artist merited too much attention from tourists. While speaking with DNAinfo, Berkowitz said he didn’t need anyone’s permission to remove the mural of Big.
“Why should I keep it?” he told DNAinfo. “I don’t even see the point of the discussion. I could demolish the building if I wanted to, I don’t need no permission from anyone except the DOB [New York City Department of Buildings].”
Well it seemed as if Berkowitz has had a change of heart. According to a statement from the creators of the mural, they reached an agreement with the landlord and the piece titled “King of NY” will remain for now.
“He is such a nice and giving person. We want everyone to thank him for keeping the Biggie mural,” Naoufal Rocko” Alaoui of Spread Art NYC said. “He didn’t realize who Biggie was and how important Biggie is to Brooklyn.”