5pointz stairwell collapse severely injures woman; building neglect cited

Well that’s the end of 5pointz. And the studios inside. The owners are in serious trouble I’m sure.

Gee, looking at that building, I’d never guess it was neglected.

Nicole is still alive but does anyone have news of her condition.? I can’t possibly relive what she has been through….but I know how it creeped me out to go up those stairs. Truly tragic. Well the 60,000.00 a month the owner was raking in….will go towards a settlement I suppose. But can never make good if she has lost her capabilities to live a normal live. Truly tragic.

Plaxall just wants to tear the whole thing down and build more condos right??

I agree, I hope the building isn’t torn down…but wasn’t that their plan in a couple of years? That would be a horrible thing to happen. I think they should preserve the integrity of the building and just make the proper repairs to make it safe. It should’ve been maintained all of these years by it’s current owner. Obviously the owner was just ok with taking everybody’s money without being a responsible landlord. I heard that a lot of the spaces don’t even have heat in them, that’s pure neglect! It’s time scumlords stop taking advantage of people like that!

i was speaking of all scumlords…it’s sad that’s all. And it would be a shame to see 5 points go because someone felt like being lazy and not maintain their building.

The owner illegally compartmentalized the building with partition walls, to get more studios and renters, something thats been going on in this city for 150 years no matter what laws are made against it. There were constant violation notices by the buildings dept but the landlord was an absentee and never opened doors for them or contacted them back.

This woman’s injury no matter how horrible, saved 30 lives by bringing this place into public light where hopefully its problems will be rectified or the place will be demolished. I dont want to see anyone be put out in the street but I also dont want to see dead civilians and dead firemen due to illegal renovations.
We’ve had enough of that.

“rumor” has it that this landlord is “in” with bloomberg’s cronies and land developers that’ve been raping the rest of LIC.

The picture is kind of eerie now… I’ve been on those stairs myself… what a gamble.

The Plaxall families do not own the Phun factory building. They own some property over that way…but intended to construct new artist live/work space.

But the city wouldn’t allow it as a give back for more FAR.

#18, the Reis Studios are not affordable. Their prices begin at $480 for a crappy, small box with no window.

its a sad story, climbed those stairs myself too, and enjoyed some great views of the city on a makeshift teenage date way before the whole real estate boom in lic. for some reason i always hoped the place would get renovated, and stay a haven for graffiti artists to display their work on the exterior so i can live in a condo on the inside and tell everyone i live in the graffiti building…. there goes my dreams. but poor girl, it’s a miracle that nobody was actually on the stairs at the time.

So #20, a reality check could be like falling two floors with concrete? Artists have it so easy. Yeah, right, *

“…there’s A Recession…afoot.” My bad.

#20, PS1 would be gone if it weren’t for the residents of this community who rallied to have that building saved. I’m not sure…but I think we are talking 25-30 years ago. It was slated for demolition. So your theory is much skewed. So little has been preserved in Queens. As a resident I could go there for free. I just don’t go to often because the original scene was far more enjoyable than it is now. However I still am grateful that there are artists as well the fact that the architecture of PS1 was preserved. If we didn’t have bloodhound artists, were would developers look to for their next conquest?

I really would like to know what artists get? Your example is non evident.

Throughout history, people living in societies in decline have been contemptuous of artists. Now it’s New York City’s turn. It should come as no surprise that some angry, ignoramus wingnut or corporate welfare drone spouts venom about the supposed privileges artists enjoy. At least they haven’t started rounding you up and throwing you in prison, yet. Until then, there’s always the Bronx.

#20, how about some true history…

By the late 1950′s the building was in disrepair and local enrollment at PS 1 severely dropped off. 75% of the students were being bused in from Queensbridge houses with accompanying strained race relations. In the early 60′s the building was evacuated for structural issues and closed.

The City stabilized the building over the next 10 years but due to a lack of adequate enrollment used it as a warehouse for City records for a short period. The City planned to auction the property at which time the Institute for Art and Resources proposed it’s new use and raised $250k start up money.

PS 1 has always stirred controversy among locals and even artists (myself included) but the fact is it’s remarkable how they have grown to be a world class institution surviving now three decades. For good or bad they have been a major focal point for this neighborhood and hence its new economy. Show me a developer’s brochure that does not include a reference to PS 1/Moma.

This is yet again an example of the arts contributing to the growth of a neighborhood and its economy.

Artists don’t ‘pioneer’ areas, they go where it’s cheap and no one else wants to live.

My prediction, the next hot spot will be Jamaica or Bushwick or Bed Sty. There are artists there now, but it’s too dangerous for Midwestern trust fund artists to live, so those stay in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

So much hate on this blog…I’m with #32, we are all just trying to make a living and make our dreams happen one way or another. And #26, I work full time and I’m an artist, and I still can’t afford a separate studio along with my rent, but I make due. $480 for a 10X10 shoe box with no heat is just out of control, I think that’s what people are complaining about. But I guess that’s the price you pay if you want to live in NYC. I love how there are so many misconceptions about artists, as if we don’t work and have real jobs. I wish people like #20 and #26 would get their heads out of their asses already. What happened to community and having an appreciation for your neighbor?

My wishes are with Nicole Gagne and her family, I hope she gets better and can continue making her beautiful jewelry.

maybe that will lighten some people up! Sounds like fun!

I think the consensus is#18, #20 and #26 have been tarred and feathered through their bilious conceptions.

What ever happened to respect, intellect and debate? Why is it so clearly absent in society?

Get well Nicole!

“My prediction, the next hot spot will be … Bushwick or Bed Sty. There are artists there now, but it’s too dangerous for Midwestern trust fund artists to live, so those stay in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.”

Huh??? Do you know anything about anything? Are you old or something?

Most people with “trust funds” are from the East Coast, first of all. Most people moving here from the Midwest are middle-class.

Bushwick/East Williamsburg is already the current cultural arts-music hub/”hotspot”, and tons going on in Bed-Stuy. And yeah a lot of the people living there are from the Midwest. Most artists/Midwesterners cannot afford Williamsburg because rich east coast kids and NYU students and condo people have jacked up the rents.

You also mentioned Jamaica… well, that’s a bit far-away for most.

Read a blog from a neighborhood that has a thriving grassroots art culture and minimal condo investor types and see how the other half lives:

http://bushwickbk.com/

#40, you mentioned that you’re an artist and art lover. Do you also happened to be an owner of one of the LIC buildings that rents artist studios??? I wonder.

33 says “Artists don’t ‘pioneer’ areas, they go where it’s cheap and no one else wants to live.”

Apparently 33 is clueless as to what it means to pioneer. I guess he/she thinks moving into East Coast before the planters are done is “pioneering”. Artists rented previously empty storefronts and factory spaces and some even bought decaying homes that they proceeded to fix up. The areas became more pleasant and safer. And they generally have been able to fit in with the existing residents and businesses – something that many of the new young guns seem unable or unwilling to do.

Are there any teabagging protests in LIC today?

did some one said “Juvenal Reis”
he is a shark with very VERY sharp fangs
watchaout!

Back to the issue at hand.

First, WE should all be praying for Nicole’s recovery. I wake up and the first thing I think about is her well being and its also the last thing I think about before heading to bed. Our hearts are with her and her family.

5 Pointz is a GREAT organization. They have given opportunities for THOUSANDS of aerosol artists, both local and worldwide. We have all noticed the neighborhood changing throughout the last several years. WOW… WHAT A MISTAKE. Long Island City was alway known as a industrial section and most of the condo’s they’ve built still have MANY available units in them. And to think, the city says, ” there is a graffiti problem”. Well, I got news for you. You haven’t even begun to see a graffiti problem. When there is no legal place to paint, don’t think for one second that people are gonna just up and quit painting. Congratulations! You have a SERIOUS problem now, especially with all those nice buildings around. They will still flock to that block because of the AMAZING HISTORY that it represents. But 5 Pointz is much more then just a legal place for aerosol artists to paint. It has structured a community that spans across the globe. It also can be very helpful to the artists on the inside of the building for networking. You never know just who you will bump into just walking around. There is no place in the WORLD like 5 Pointz. This is truely a 1 of a kind type of place. There is a much bigger picture then “you” and “I” here.

Again, we are all with you Nicole!

Also, one other thing, If Mayor Bloomberg can change the law to his favor, because we all know that in someway, shape or fashion, this 3rd term BS is protecting his investments and making him alot of $……. Thanks for giving the incentive of bending the rules to all the other mega wealthy business people. Lead by Example!

#51, I think you went a little too far in your characterization of Juvenal Reis, the owner of the Juvenal Reis Studios. I do, however, think it would be completely fair to criticize his prices. They’re just too high, and if he doesn’t adjust them, those metaphorical fangs of which you speak will come around and bite himself in the ass. (Especially now that we’re in a recession.)

Thank you #56, some of us have actually been wondering about her. Please keep us updated!

#54 aerosol artists are not uncontrollable, we just don’t recognize the same boundaries as you do. #53′s point is that now there is a huge population of artists that had a legal outlet, and now don’t. Couple that with the local explosion of unwanted visual pollution known as Glassy Towers, it seems fair that if they can pollute our world, we can pollute theirs. And LIC is very familiar with pollution in general. So it should be no big deal.

And just so you yuppies know, it’s nothing personal. We are just here too, and we want to see things in our environment that reflect us…if they are not there already, why then we must put them there. Sorry if that is your condo building, but it’s blocking my view of the sun. t-a-g-i-t

thanks liqcity for doing your part to legitimize and promote low-class thugs and vandals who have used your blog to openly advocate committing property crime. If I were a graffiti — oops, I mean aerosol — “artist,” I would be very careful to use the term visual pollution to refer to the mostly positive changes going on in LIC. Then again, I guess they’ve lost a few too many brain cells from the paint fumes to think clearly, if they ever did (fetal alcohol syndrome, anyone?). What a shame the whole bunch of them weren’t on that fire escape instead of Nicole.

#59, shame on you…it would’ve been nice if nobody was on those stairs. And it’s not property crime if the building allows the art to take place on their walls. Get over yourself already.

No. 61, Shame on me? Get over myself? How could any sensible person who cares about the neighborhood agree with 57? Maybe you have been sniffing a few too many paint cans yourself.

Art is supposed to improve our surroundings, not make our surroundings look shoddier. The guys at “5Pointz” are vandals, not artists. Local organizations like “Sunnyside United Neighborhood Network” and “Woodside on the Move” have been at conflict with these vandals for years. Now that their building is shut down, please help to keep “Meres’ and his cronies from returning to our neighborhood!