NYC Biggie Mural to Be Destroyed by Landlord

A Brooklyn, N.Y., landlord plans to remove a mural of Biggie Smalls to make room for windows and raise rent prices.

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Two years ago, the mural was placed on the side of an apartment building on the corner of Bedford Avenue and Quincy Street in Biggie’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, but Samuel Berkowitz, the building’s landlord, said he is planning to renovate the building to create more windows, which will allow him to raise rents.

According to Berkowitz, he’s received complaints from tenants about the mural because of the foot traffic it creates around the building. And although community organizers have been trying to halt the mural’s removal, Berkowitz says he’s already secured the proper permits.

“Why should I keep it?” he told DNAinfo. “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 [New York City Department of Buildings].”