'Ugly Building For Rich People' Posters Pop Up In Manhattan

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — An anonymous team of pranksters has been hitting Manhattan construction sites with fake "work in progress" posters advertising the coming of an "ugly building for rich people."

"This hideous building will block sunlight and ruin the NYC skyline," the posters read. "It will have units available for only the richest of the rich. Half the owners will purchase apartments to launder money and won't even live here."

The posters were displayed Wednesday at sites such as the planned 1,428-foot-tall 111 W. 57th Street and the prankster's personal "worst building in New York" 432 Park Avenue, the performance artist behind the prank told Patch on the condition of anonymity.

More posters will be put on display in the coming days as part of a larger art piece critical of New York City's luxury development boom. Targets include: "Basically any big residential building that is popping up, that is an eyesore and it's only available for the ultra rich."

"We should save the New York City skyline. And think about the choices we're making with it and what's being approved and who's benefiting from underneath all that. Because it really is a very select few," the artist said.

The performance artists decided that fake "work in progress" posters are a good medium for their posters because they challenge the notion that increased development means progress.

"It's a work in progress but it's actually like, not working for the city. It's not progress actually, it's making the city worse for the benefit for a very few," the artist said.

The artists told Patch that they put up about 10 posters at various sites around Manhattan on Wednesday and are planning on putting up more in the coming days. Posters vary in size and artwork but contain the same messages. The group also plans to protest development in other ways, but wanted to keep the upcoming projects a secret.

When asked if they were worried about any legal retaliation, the artists said that they didn't know if their posters are "a form of vandalism" but seemed confident that they aren't causing any property damage. A construction crew on its lunch break even watched as the artists hung up one of the posters Wednesday without intervening.

"They all read it, and then they laughed."