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Judge awards $6.7 million to graffiti artists whose work was destroyed to build condos

NorthSky

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https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/13/us/5pointz-graffiti-artists-award-trnd/index.html

I like the judge's decision. It is sad that the art was destroyed.

180213145059-02-5pointz-graffiti-file-exlarge-169.jpg
 

Cosmik

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Many layers of irony in this story. It's graffiti but done with the building owner's permission; the resulting 'space' is used by evil corporations for advertising shoots. The easy-come-easy-go, spontaneous, live-life-to-the-max street artists get up tight when their spontaneous creations are spontaneously painted over with new, white street art. In the end they demand huge stacks of dead presidents from the person who allowed them to paint on his buildings, using The Man to get it.
 

noobie1

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This is a district court ruling that will likely get overturned or the damages will be reduced. The facts of the case (as I understand it) is that the building owner was also deemed owner of the art. However, the court applied moral rights law that grants creators of the art right to the integrity of their work. Moral rights generally don't have as much teeth in the U.S. as they do in Europe.
 
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NorthSky

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You touched the point of the article; the artists and the canvas* they use to draw their craft. ...The owner of the canvas, and also the revenues generated by the tourists. ...The judge and his reading of the laws with whatever or whoever biases might have occurred. The money sum is quite large, where will it be from?

* The building. The location and its impact on the community from generated revenues.

Those are only some of my ideas I took from that article. It is unusual, different from the norm.
 
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NorthSky

NorthSky

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amirm

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The property value is estimated @ $200 million.
Wow. I was going to suggest that people should have gotten together and bought the building but not for that kind of money.
 

RayDunzl

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What puzzled me is someone leaving a $200M property that way instead of rebuilding and making tons of money.

https://untappedcities.com/2013/12/16/vintage-photos-5pointz-original-past-as-neptune-meter-company/

You'd probably have to study the property taxes in the area (very steep to me).

I'd say its not "worth" 200M as is (abandoned factory built in 1892), only as "redevelopment" (maybe just land value after razing, although they might refurb the thing for condos).

Wiki:
"After 40 years of ownership, the Wolkoff family decided to develop the 5 Pointz site...
... News of the building's demolition was generally negatively received by artists"

He might have a low (grandfathered) rate, which would be "adjusted" based on renovation, for which he waits till the proper time to persue.

Here, if you have a cow on your 1000 acres, it is taxed at "agricultural" rate (low) vs no cow and taxed as "primed for development".
 
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RayDunzl

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