New 10,600-Square-Foot Mural Coming To Essex Crossing On LES

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — A bright and colorful mural will soon grace a new building in the Essex Crossing development on the Lower East Side.

New York City artists of the group ASVP will paint a 10,600-square-foot mural — 220 feet long and as high as 79 feet tall.

The Brooklyn-based duo, Simon Grendene and Victor Anselmi, was chosen from among 85 artists who applied to the Essex Crossing developers to paint the massive street canvas.

Inspired by graffiti culture and its history on Lower East Side, street artist Anselmi said painting such a large piece of art in New York City's streets adds a "social component" to the project, which features bright reds, yellows and blues.

"People often stop and ask what's happening, and this offers the opportunity to share more about the ideas behind the work, and it creates an additional social component to the piece that otherwise wouldn't be there if you, for example, just were in a museum or gallery," Anselmi, who started ASVP with Grendene in 2009.

"It's also very inspiring to know that throughout this process, you're creating something that's a gift to everyone and it's offered without any type of exclusivity or restriction," he said. The design's bright and bold colors are meant to reflect the diversity and culture of the Lower East Side, he added.

The mural will be painted in the coming weeks at Essex Crossing's building called The Rollins, at Grand and Clinton streets, which is a mixed-income building above a Trader Joe's and Target with a recently opened public space.

"At nearly 11,000 square feet, the mural will be one of the largest in the city and offer visitors and residents a colorful look at the Lower East Side's famed artistic culture," said Ernie Padron, development associate at BFC Partners, a part of the Delancey Street Associates.

The building and now mural is a part of Essex Crossing, developed by a team of developers including L+M Development Partners, BFC Partners, Taconic Investment Partners, the Prusik Group, and the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group.

The sweeping development project will add more than 1,000 residences to the Lower East Side, about half of which are below-market-rate through the city's housing lottery program. The six-acre project, which includes the revamped Essex Street Market, a movie theatre, office space, and a bowling alley, will be complete by 2024.