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Videos: Drone Footage Captures Black Lives Matter Street Murals Across NYC
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jul 11, 2020
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Alon Sicherman for New Kingston Media
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jul 11, 2020
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Last month, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that there would be street murals painted in each of the five boroughs to commemorate the Black Lives Matter movement, taking inspiration taken from the gigantic Black Lives Matter street painting near the White House in Washington, D.C. Several of those pieces are now done, and you can check out drone footage capturing them below, courtesy of @mingomatic.
The most recently-completed mural is the one in Harlem on Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard, which volunteers will finish painting this weekend. The mural, located between 125th and 127th streets, is painted on both sides of the boulevard.
"To have this mural here in Harlem, in this day and age, number one, I think it makes sense," said Trevor Thomas, 34, who helped with the painting on Friday. "There’s been a lot of historical movements that have taken place in Harlem, so I think it’s only befitting, there’s a movement currently going on, right now, so I think it’s on time."
De Blasio, who visited the mural, also noted the significance of its location, saying Harlem "is to the world the example of the greatness in Black America." He added, “Remember the mural is only the beginning. The mural says what needs to be said but now we have to turn it into action.”
The first BLM road mural was painted on a 375-foot-long stretch of Fulton Street outside of the Billie Holiday Theatre in Restoration Plaza in the middle of June. The project was a joint effort between the Billie Holiday Theatre and Council Member Robert Cornegy Jr., who had reached out to artist Dawud West.
The second mural completed is located in Richmond Terrace in Staten Island, between Hamilton Avenue and Ferry Terminal Viaduct.
Another one went up in Brooklyn along Joralemon Street between Court Street and Boerum Place in Brooklyn Heights. That street has also been co-named “Black Lives Matter Boulevard.”
And the Manhattan mural is located on Centre Street between Worth and Reade streets.
There are at least three more BLM murals planned as of now: one in Queens on 153rd Street between Jamaica and Archer avenues, and one in the Bronx on Morris Avenue between 161st and 162nd streets. Both are expected to be painted before the end of July.
This week, a new BLM mural went up on Fifth Avenue, between 56th and 57th streets, facing Trump Tower. Donald Trump was not enthusiastic about that announcement, decrying it in a series of tweets last week: “This will further antagonize New York’s Finest, who LOVE New York & vividly remember the horrible BLM chant, ‘Pigs In A Blanket, Fry ‘Em Like Bacon.' Maybe our GREAT Police, who have been neutralized and scorned by a mayor who hates & disrespects them, won’t let this symbol of hate be affixed to New York’s greatest street. Spend this money fighting crime instead!”
The Trump Tower painting was supposed to begin late last week, but de Blasio said it has been postponed. That drone footage is not available yet, but for now, here's an aerial view:
Additional reporting from Mirela Iverac / WNYC.
Tagged
street art
drone
murals
black lives matter
mural
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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