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Today's New Banksy Was...Cancelled By Police Activity
By
Ben Yakas
Published Oct 23, 2013
Modified Oct 23, 2013
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Oct 23, 2013
Modified Oct 23, 2013
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The 23rd piece in Banksy's month-long open-air street art residency of NYC has been cancelled. In his latest post, Banksy writes that, "Today's art has been cancelled due to police activity." Does this mean Banksy is in jail? Did the police disrupt some piece he was working on? Is he hungover after watching Borussia Dortmund defeat Arsenal? Or did he just take a day off to go sightseeing?
Yesterday, Banksy placed a sculpture in Willets Point, Queens, where locals quickly claimed ownership of it and had it removed. The NYPD have reportedly been intent on pursuing and arresting him, even though they haven't been able to get anyone to press charges. In the meantime, they've been settling for threatening to ticket the actor in one of his pieces.
UPDATE, 12:30 p.m.: There's a rumor that Banksy was arrested around 6 a.m. this morning in the 79th Precinct. But an NYPD spokesman tells us that no one was arrested for anything involving graffiti in the 79th, and specifically stated that Banksy was not arrested.
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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