The Notorious B.I.G. mural in Bed-Stuy will come down

Bed-Stuy will lose one of its murals of honoring the late legendary rapper Biggie Smalls (a.k.a. the Notorious B.I.G., Big Poppa, and Christopher Wallace). According to DNAinfo, two-story installation on the corner of Bedford Avenue and Quincy Street will be come down in order for the building’s property owner to add windows.

Art collective Spread Art NYC, which represents artists Naoufal “Rocko” Alaoui and Scott "Zimer" Zimmerman—they painted the “King of NY” mural back in 2015—made an effort to stop the artwork from being destroyed to no avail. The group offered landlord Samuel Berkowitz $5,000 to preserve it; Berkowitz countered it with a monthly charge of $1,250. The group said that it would be unable to afford the monthly cost.

In addition to adding windows, Berkowitz has filed plans to gut renovate the building’s second floor. A post on Spread Art NYC’s Instagram page claims that the changes are being made so that Berkowitz can increase rents in the building.

It also seems that Berkowitz simply isn’t a fan of the mural, telling DNAInfo that tenants have complained about it and the attention it garners. “Why should I keep it? I don’t even see the point of the discussion,” he said.

This is just one of the neighborhood’s many murals depicting the late rapper, who was murdered 21 years ago. Perhaps the most famous is “Comandante Biggie” mural in Fort Greene, located above the Lafayette Avenue train station and created by artist Cern One in 2011.

A slightly newer piece with a Coming to America theme recently went up in Prospect Heights at St. John's Place and Underhill Avenue.

And then there’s this one in Bushwick on St. Nicholas Avenue and Troutman Street:

• Biggie Mural About to Be Destroyed, Bed-Stuy Building Owner Says [DNAinfo]