Biggie Mural Restored In Brooklyn After Being Painted Over By Cannabis Dispensary
Written by djfrosty on February 21, 2024
Source: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / Getty
The memory of the Notorious B.I.G. still looms large in the borough of Brooklyn so whenever a mural pops up paying homage to the OG King of New York, Brooklynites hold the art in high regard.
Unfortunately the owners of a newly open cannabis dispensary in Bushwick, Brooklyn weren’t too aware of what a mural of baby Biggie meant to the neighborhood, so when they were forced to paint over the decorated wall to comply with city regulations, the outcry was loud and swift. According to ABC7, the CEO of Emerald Dispensary, Christina de Giovanni, part of the deal to get a license to sell marijuana in the gentrified neighborhood was to cover up the three-year-old Biggie mural. And while she didn’t want to take such actions, she felt she had to in order to comply with city regulations.
Per ABC7:
“This was not on our radar, and we tried, we did not want to cover this up at all,” said Christina de Giovanni, CEO of Emerald Dispensary. “We love this mural from the minute we moved into this building, and we had artwork done on the front of the building and along the side, we all agreed we’re not touching this big mural. We love this. This stays.”
Initially, it didn’t quite work out that way. The iconic childhood mural of Biggie, that went up three years ago in Bushwick where the Emerald Dispensary is now open for business, was covered up with black removable graffiti before it opened its doors last week.
“We were following the regulations,” Giovanni said. “We had a state inspection a couple weeks ago, and so prior to that, we had been speaking to a compliance officer and we were aware of the regulations in regards to exterior artwork. And so, we covered it up because we thought that we were in compliance. We thought that that is what needed to happen to be in compliance.”
Naturally the neighborhood residents who’ve grown found of the artwork that artist Huetek blessed the neighborhood with years ago took issue with the move. Things got so heated that the owner was allegedly hit with death threats over the decision to black out the Biggie mural. Thankfully no one was actually physically harmed and after hearing the public outcry from the neighborhood residents, the OCM decided the mural could stay as they saw how much it meant to the good people of Bushwick, Brooklyn.
A decision that Emerald Dispensary co-owner, Roman Roman says left him elated.
“I’m just happy that we were able to get this, you know, over with,” he told ABC7.
We’re just happy the memory of Biggie continues to live in the most thorough of boroughs.