The Plan To Destroy Biggie's Mural

The two-story mural located at Bedford Avenue and Quincy Street in Bedstuy Brooklyn has been a tourist attraction for hip hop lovers since it was painted in 2015. The owner of the building, Samuel Berkowitz, plans to renovate the building and wants to remove the hip hop artwork in order to add new windows.

“Let me rephrase the question: Why should I keep it?” he said. “I don’t even see the point of the discussion. I could demolish the building if I wanted to, I don’t need no permission from anyone except the DOB.” Department of Building records shows Berkowitz has already gained a permit for the renovations.

In an attempt to save the mural, Spread Art NYC, a collective of mural artists, tried to save the mural but Berkowitz is offering to keep the mural up in exchange for $1,200 a month. In an Instagram post, the group stated, "Today Spread Art NYC offered $5000 (which we planned to gather from the community and the fans) not to open the windows. Unfortunately, that offer was declined, and it was answered by a counteroffer of $1250 a month."

While the demise of the ode to one of hip-hop's best emcee seems imminent, no one in Brooklyn could ever stop the memory of The Notorious B.I.G.