Iconic Biggie Smalls Mural Will Stay On Brooklyn Building After Jewish Landlord Relents

Image by change.org

By Josh Nathan-Kazis May 23, 2017

An iconic mural of the rapper Notorious B.I.G. will stay on a Bedford-Stuyvesant wall following a reversal by the building owner, Solomon Berkowitz, dnainfo reports.

The mural is a Brooklyn landmark, which neighborhood activists have sought to preserve. Notorious B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace, lived in Bed-Stuy, and is closely associated with the neighborhood. He was murdered in 1997.

DnaInfo reported that Berkowitz reversed his decision to remove the mural after hearing about a massive backlash.

“To be honest, he just didn’t know how important Biggie is to Brooklyn,” the mural’s creator, Naoufal “Rocko” Alaoui, told dnainfo.

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected] or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.

Josh Nathan-Kazis is a staff writer for the Forward. He covers charities and politics, and writes investigations and longform.

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