A popular mural of The Notorious B.I.G. is about to disappear as the landlord of the building it rests on is looking to make renovations to raise rent.
New York City landlord Samuel Berkowitz is looking to “Get Money” and a few Biggie fans are upset with how he’s going about it. Berkowitz plans to make renovations to his Brooklyn rental property that sits at the corner of Bedford Avenue and Quincy Street. He’s looking to add a couple of windows to the building, so that he can raise the rent. But, in making those changes, he will be destroying a mural of Biggie Smalls, the legendary rapper that repped BK to the fullest.
Spread Art NYC, a local art collective that has been trying to keep the mural intact, broke the news on their Instagram page. They revealed that they’ve been pleading with Berkowitz for a year to reconsider. Berkowitz says that tenants in the area were complaining about the mural and the crowds it attracts. He also said he was looking to make a $500 profit after raising the rent. Spread Art NYC says they offered him $5,000. To that, he said he’d take $1,250 a month from them to keep it up. At that point, Spread Art said there was nothing for them to do.
Berkowitz told DNA Info that Spread Art NYC should be happy that he even spoke with them to begin with.
“Let me rephrase the question, why should I keep it?” Berkowitz 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.”
There is no timetable on when construction is scheduled to begin.Photo: WENN.com
