Over a week ago, a jewelry designer was injured when an outdoor staircase at the artists' warehouse 5 Pointz collapsed. As Nicole Gagne, who was trapped under concrete and metal debris, remains in serious condition, the prospect for the building, which houses at least two hundred artists, remain unclear.
The NY Times looks at the latest with the Long Island City space, which is famous for the extensive (and legal) graffiti outside the building. After the Department of Buildings "issued a host of violations including unsafe conditions and putting up partitions to create the studios without a proper permit," the building's owner Jerry Wolkoff tells the Times he's devastated about the stair collapse, "It’s all solid concrete. You couldn’t see this happening, but something caused it after all these years." Per DOB order, Wolfoff had the remaining stairs removed and plans "to fix the lesser violations — replacing sprinkler heads, installing emergency lighting — and meet with the Buildings Department to get a proper certificate of occupancy."
Wolkoff, who gets praise from artists for his generosity (rents are very low), said, “I’m so sick about this because this is my way of giving back. And I gave back and this woman got hurt. Every single one of these artists are terrific. I adore every single one." The other artist-tenants are worried the building won't reopen but they are most concerned about Gagne. They recently put up a "Get Well Soon, Nicole" mural and are planning a fundraiser for her medical bills.
