Developer who destroyed 5Pointz graffiti to appeal court ruling on paying artists $6.75m

Owned by Gerald Wolkoff, the 5Pointz complex of buildings with huge murals in Queens became a mecca for street artists, but the developer destroyed the graffiti as he was going to demolish the site.

The artists filed a collective claim because they hadn’t been given 90 days’ notice before the graffiti destruction. Moreover, the artworks were protected under the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA). As we reported earlier, the artists won the lawsuit. The court ordered Gerald Wolkoff to pay $150,000 for each destroyed work. He will have to pay a total of $6.75 million to 21 artists. Unlike Gerald Wolkoff, art fans are happy with the court ruling. He is going to appeal the judge’s decision and believes the appeal court will acknowledge “how ridiculous this whole thing is”, Queens Gazette quotes the businessman as saying.

The artists’ lawyer Eric Baum told Artnet there is no basis for an appeal: “Although the defendants are appealing, the court gave a well-reasoned and thorough decision in this case. It meticulously applied the facts to the law and was fair to both parties.”