Bowery’s new citizenM hotel honors 5 Pointz with street art museum

It’s been almost five years since developers Jerry and David Wolkoff abruptly whitewashed the walls of 5Pointz, Long Island City’s beloved graffiti institution, in the middle of the night on November 13, 2014 to eventually make way for the pair of high-rise rental towers that are currently in the works. Though a federal judge recently awarded 21 artists who lost their artwork at the 5 Pointz site $6.7 million, the tremendous loss of the graffiti mecca is still felt by dozens of artists.

In efforts of honoring 5 Pointz and keeping its legacy alive, the Bowery’s new citizenM hotel is now home to the new Museum of Street Art, or MOSA. The museum will extend across 21 stories of the 300-room hotel’s stairwell and has tapped former 5 Pointz spokeswoman Marie Flageul as its curator. Flageul and artist Meres One commissioned 20 artists who once painted at 5 Pointz to fill the vertical museum with portraits, calligraffiti, collages, and more, reports the New York Times.

The hotel recently began welcoming visitors and MOSA will make its debut in October. The museum was funded by the hotel and will be open seven days a week, free of charge.

As for the hotel itself, citizenM Bowery is a modular building, constructed with 300 rooms, and located at 185 Bowery. It is the counterpart to the brand’s citizenM hotel in Times Square, however, this new location holds the title for the tallest modular hotel building in the world. Each one of its 150-square-foot rooms come with king-sized beds, picture windows, and ambient lighting. There is a planted public plaza in the front of the building with benches and picnic tables; a 5,000-square-foot outdoor mural by Meres One, an expansive rooftop bar named CloudM, and an outdoor terrace that offers panoramic views of the city’s skyline.

• 5 Years Ago, Their 5Pointz Art Was Erased. Now There’s a Museum for It. [New York Times]