BY BEN VERDE
A group of painters unveiled
the latest chapter in a recurring
series of mural enhancements
to a gnarly, old
ruins of a former laundromat
in Prospect Heights.
The new mural project
saw artists take on famous
book covers, such as
“Moby Dick,” “Water for
Elephants,” and “Tales of
the City,” along with many
famed literary tales. One
mural features a spin on
“Where The Wild Things
Are” featuring the original
children’s book characters
dressed as Brooklyn hip–
hop trio The Beastie Boys.
The art graces the dilapidated
laundromat at St.
Johns Place and Underhill
Avenue, which was gutted
by a fire some 16 years ago.
The owner was never able
to renovate his ramshackle
edifice, but the building received
an unexpected facelift
in 2015, when artist and
longtime Prospect Heights
resident Jeff Beler contacted
the building’s owner
and convinced him to donate
COURIER L 6 IFE, OCT. 18-24, 2019
the construction fence
surrounding his burnt-out
husk for use as a canvas.
Since then, Beler and his
band of professional and
amateur painters have repainted
the barricade every
six months or so. Past
themes have included “Urban
Jungle” and zodiac
signs, and the recurring
makeover has become a
cause for celebration among
community members.
“It’s changed the community,”
Beler said. “Every
time we do an installation it
just brings the children and
everybody out.”
Paulie Nassar, a Brooklynbased
artist who has been involved
with the murals since
it was last updated and contributed
a “Charlottes Web”
mural last weekend, said he
loved being a part of a project
of local renown.
“I love the reaction,” said
Nassar, who runs Off the
Wall Graffiti, a Brooklyn
based nonprofit for kids who
have gotten in trouble for doing
graffiti. “People coming
up all day and saying thank
you, and that they love coming
by on their way home.”
And while Nassar’s mural
may only live for half a year,
that just means he gets to go
back and paint something
new.
“So many times you get these
things where people put in a
mural project and they want
the mural to be there for 20
years,” he said. “To know
when I do my piece, that it
has a six-month shelf life, I
kind of enjoy that as a street
artist. I feel like we fight
to make everything permanent
now, no one wants anyone
to go over their thing,
that was never the point, the
point was to paint on stuff,
let’s just get back to that.”
A Beastie Boys and “Where the
Wild Things Are” mural by artist
Subwaydoodle.
Photo by Colin Mixson
Artist Jeff Beler in front of a “Where the Wild Things Are” mural.
Photo by Colin Mixson
Cooking the books
Artists unveil literary-themed murals at burnt-out ruins in P’ Heights
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