“If you told me 20 years ago there’d be a place like this, I never would’ve believed it,” said Anthony Giglio, a 37-year-old New York City native who gave up graffiti years ago for steady work and a family. But for the past two years, he says, 5 Pointz has been a haven.

He visits after work and on weekends to improve the craft he learned as a teenager in train yards. “This place is a saving grace for a lot of people,” Giglio says.

Artists & Admirers

5 Pointz, named for New York’s five boroughs, is across from the contemporary art museum P.S.1. But visitors who stroll Jackson Avenue near Crane Street see a different collection of modern art.

While some P.S.1 exhibits are designed to peak the mind, 5 Pointz attacks the eyes with images gritty and cartoonish.

The massive building that spans much of a city block is covered with movie and television characters, sneering faces, dragons and the bent contorted lettering that is graffiti’s hallmark.

Graffiti writers of all styles and skills are given a spot at 5 Pointz, provided they bring their own spray cans and accept that even the best images will eventually be painted over.

Anthony Giglio, a graffiti writer, stands in front of his letters at 5 Pointz, a legal spot for graffiti in New York City.