N.Y. Developer Must Pay $6.75 Million for Destroying Graffiti
Written February 27, 2020
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on February 20, 2020, affirmed the district court’s award of $6.75 million to a group of artists under the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 after a Queens, New York, developer intentionally whitewashed over their graffiti. Castillo v. G&M Realty LP, 2d Cir., No. 18-498, 2/20/20.
A group of graffiti artists displayed their work at a “series of dilapidated warehouse buildings” in Long Island City. Property owner Gerald Wolkoff looked to demolish the buildings to build luxury apartments, and the artists sued under VARA to protect the graffiti.
Wolkoff argued that because most of the works were temporary, they couldn’t have gotten the “recognized stature” necessary for VARA protection. But the court noted that VARA adopted a “highly specific definition” of visual art that didn’t distinguish between permanent and temporary art, and declined to adopt an additional requirement that could “upset the balance achieved by the legislature.”