Long Island City's 5 Pointz-replacing rental towers reveal interiors

The controversial rental towers rising on the ashes of 5 Pointz in Long Island City are on the path toward completion. When we last checked in back in January, the two buildings had risen several stories, and were well on their way toward reaching their respective 48- and 41-story heights by the anticipated end-of-year deadline.

Details on what the project would offer, in terms of number of apartments and plans for commercial space, have been around for a while but up until now, renderings of what the inside of the buildings will actually look like had remained to be seen.

G&M Realty, the development firm owned by Jerry Wolkoff, has tapped design firm Mojo Stumer Associates to execute the interiors and public spaces for the massive 1,115-apartment project. And per the developer’s promise, the design attempts to capitalize on 5 Pointz’s legacy as a graffiti mecca by incorporating artwork into its common spaces. Ultimately it comes across as yet another high-end residential developer playing into the growing trend of merging street art with luxury living.

The lobby has an “engraved graffiti logo” in the reception area along with soaring ceilings and a few walls adorned with artwork. The towers will offer a gallery with 14-foot ceilings, large columns, floor-to-ceiling windows that welcome in plenty of natural light, and more graffiti. Plans also call for nearly 40,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground and cellar floors along with 20 artists’ studios.

The amenity package that residents will be privy to will have a lounge, fitness center, and indoor swimming pool. Rent prices haven’t been revealed just yet but there will be 223 affordable units split between the two buildings.

The development has drawn heavy criticism from the very beginning, when it was announced that the legendary “U.N. of graffiti” would be wiped out. Not much has changed since then and protests along with local opposition continue to ensue.

Last month, a judge allowed a lawsuit presented in 2015 by nine artists against site owner Wolkoff to move forward. The suit argues that Wolkoff and G&M Realty removed murals painted by the artists, when they whitewashed the site overnight, “without giving [the artists] a fair opportunity to remove and preserve their work, or even the minimum notice required by law.”

• 5 Pointz-replacing rental towers are on the rise in Long Island City [Curbed]
• 5 Pointz artists’ lawsuit over demolished work may proceed, judge rules [Curbed]
• 5Pointz Owners Whitewash Graffiti Mecca Overnight [Curbed]
• All 5 Pointz coverage [Curbed]