Lower East Side Developer Paints Over 43-Year-Old Jewish Mural Paying Tribute to Forward
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
A Lower East Side real estate developer abruptly painted over a 43-year-old Jewish heritage mural Monday — sparking outrage among neighborhood residents and one of the artists who created it nearly a half century ago.
Sara Krivisky was a teenager when she helped paint the mural, which features themes including the Holocaust, immigration, sweatshops — — and even the Forward, the New York Post reported.
“The way it was done is very disrespectful to the history and the heritage of the community,” she told the paper. “Those faces on the wall are our parents’ faces, they’re our faces. It’s just very sad that that’s the way it had to end.”
“People are appalled that this happened,” Stephen Talasnik, a local artist, fumed to a reporter.
Developer Rob Kaliner said the building on which the mural is painting is due to be demolished to make room for two high rises in the fast-gentrifying neighborhood where the Forward building once towered over block after block of tenements.
He said the mural was erased to prevent chunks of paint falling from the wall onto East Broadway below.
“It was purely done for safety reasons,” Kaliner told the Post.
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
That’s why I’m paying it Forward, by matching $36,000 of reader gifts. It’s an investment in the Forward’s newsroom, to continue telling the American Jewish story with truth and independence.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
