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Friday, December 20, 2013

NYTimes posts a used-to-love letter to 5Ptz

The New York Times posted what I'm coining a "I used-to-love letter" to the subject of the erased murals on the 5ptz building in its Friday, Dec 20th, 2013 online edition.

I noticed a small headline and link reading "A Beginning For 5Ptz not the End" whose title conceit inspired me to read it since last word and image from 5ptz, the iconic mural and graffiti coated building in Long Island City, Queens, was of all it's art, tags and massive murals, some of it a decade old had been destroyed in gut wrenching fashion and the middle of the night by the land owner and developer.

Immediately after I read the letter which was posted in the City Diary section and who's message seems to be telling us, to borrow a movie line,"nothing to see here move along" I wondered if any vested real estate interests help blow this bit of prose up the grey lady's skirt. And if so how much?

For you I present my interpretation of the letter, the article to the actual is at the end.

Dear Diary,

I used to love, a boy, he was cool, an artist, with a cool name. I'm giving you the superficial details because I have a word count to watch and there really wasnt much more depth to my interest than that.

It wasn't my fault but I missed out on the New York of lore, fortunately thanks to my crush-love I was granted access into a sliver of that world and a chance to sight-see. It was great. My crush, wrote me in small letters into a world of characters, among them; self-proclaiming types, and a  disappearing/reappearing tabby cat(Cheshire, duh). Finally I surfed on the edge of inclusion. From the roof, I watched the sunset on this world and it's magic.

Long after I got a fb message from my crush-love (who by now I realized, I didn't really love anyway) he showed me the art work of that world was taken away. Interestingly he didn't care much.  Since he's of that world and willing to see the developer's middle-night white out of all it's artwork (including my non-crush's artwork (ephemeral, duh)) I know what happened doesn't matter, and I clearly should not see it as a big deal that the art work was destroyed without any attempt to save even one mural.

My erased-crush thinks it's like a blank canvas for new art to grow, like say the uniqueness of the edifying edifices of luxury high-rise condos. My once-crush is giving me permission not to see the developer's actions as an insult, an example of the excessive greed and ego that has dictated much of the gentrification of the city in the last ten years, or a symbol of petty vengeance by a sore winner/developer with a desire to take an eraser to a world renown aspect of New York City.

So like an online fling we should just move along and be happy there still pictures somewhere on the internet to look at.

P.S.: No word on the tabby, I'm sure he'll pop up somewhere else, maybe he'll just appear in one of the new luxury condos because that's how magic works.
Love
Alice


Liked,
Kristen


The City Roll Diary article refered to can be found here: 
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/20/a-beginning-for-5pointz-not-the-end  


“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."
"I don't much care where –"
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go.”
Lewis Carroll

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