Bushwick Collective: Year In Review (Part I)

Adam Fu

When you are renting an apartment in New York City you can end up anywhere. A few years back, I was looking for a new place, somehow I ended up at the Jefferson Stop in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

For those who know me, know that I always have a camera on me. I am also an avid street art and graffiti fan, so this location couldn’t have been much better for someone like me.

At the time, a new mural project had just started to take shape called “Bushwick Five Pointz”, spearheaded by long time Bushwick resident, Joe Ficalora. Having grown up in the area and losing his parents to violence in this very neighborhood, Joe was motivated to bring something positive to the neighborhood.

The name of the project quickly changed to the Bushwick Collective to clear up confusion between it and the actual 5 Pointz in Long Island City, Queens. Around the same time, the actual 5 Pointz was fighting an eviction to make way for new condos. As you may know, they lost and the building has since been demolished. With the loss of the 5 Pointz, there were few legal places for artists to paint. From that point on, Joe with the help of his cousins, have continued to bring an impressive line up artists to the neighborhood.

The following photos were taken randomly. Some walking the dogs, others during my lunch hour or just exploring the neighborhood. I don’t get any inside tips, I just go out the house and explore my neighborhood.

Due to the amount of photos, this article will be split into two posts. These photos were taken from January to June 2014 so check back with us in a couple days for the Part II of our Bushwick Collective coverage.