190 Bowery Will Be Stripped of Its Graffiti, But One Tag Will Remain

Come this weekend, Bowery's historic Germania Bank Building will be stripped of all its graffiti save for a space tagged by graffiti artist Sean Griffin under his moniker, "NEKST," Mass Appeal reports. The building is currently undergoing a transformation into a high-end office space courtesy of Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty.

Rosen had previously mentioned that he would only get rid of the building’s graffiti upon the request of a future ground floor tenant, but who that tenant is has not been revealed yet. Regardless, he has decided to save the "NEKST" tag which Griffin first painted in 2007, and then another time subsequently, before he passed away in 2012.

By Tod Seelie via Mass Appeal

The artist’s brother told Mass Appeal that his followers had worked in the years since to maintain the sign with work having been done on it as recently as this past April. Rosen purchased the building from photographer Jay Maisel for $55 million two years ago. Maisel had lived there since 1966 when he purchased it for $106,000.

Creative firm Great Bowery is leasing floors two through six of this six-story landmarked building, but a ground-floor tenant has yet to be announced. Cleaners were first spotted power washing the facade of the building in March this year.

• ALL THE GRAFFITI ON 190 BOWERY GETTING BUFFED, EXCEPT FOR NEKST (RIP) [Mass Appeal]
• 190 Bowery's Graffiti-Covered Facade Is Getting Some Changes [Curbed]
• Photos: Inside 190 Bowery Amid Its Conversion Into High-End Office Space [Curbed]