5Pointz Graffiti Artist Will Go To Court Over Whitewashed Artwork

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — Graffiti artists who had their work whitewashed by building owner Jerry Wolkoff will be allowed to go trial, U.S. Judge Frederic Block of the Eastern District of New York.

The jury will have to decide whether the mural should have been protected under the Visual Artists Rights Act, designed to protect art of "registered stature" painted on someone else's property. Muralist Ken Twitchell had won the largest settlement under the VARA for $1.1 million against the U.S. government and 12 defendants for painting over his Ed Ruscha mural in Los Angeles in 2006.

There is currently no vandalism case in court but a federal court case against the building owner Jerry Wolkoff, by the 23 graffiti artists, whose artwork was destroyed in 2003. The aerosol artists had been painting on the outer walls of the building complex known as 5Pointz with Wolkoff's permission since 1993, and, at the time of its destruction, the site had garnered international fame.

All that changed in 2013 when Wolkoff, planning the construction of high-rises in place of the building, suddenly whitewashed walls of the graffiti mecca over the course of one night. Even though the artists filed a lawsuit to block the demolition, the building was knocked down in 2014.

Block's ruling, issued March 31, will allow the artists to face Wolkoff in court to settle for the damage that he caused the artwork. The artists hope that the trial will pave the way for a landmark designation, which would establish graffiti as legitimate art form.

The exact court date is not set yet, but the trial is likely to take place sometime in May.

Wolkoff is currently constructing two high-rises, which will include 1,000 apartments, spaces for artists and art galleries, on the former site of the graffiti.

Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images