Join Recycle-A-Bicycle and P.S. 993 Friday, June 13 at 4 p.m. to celebrate Long Island City’s newest mural and to hear the story behind the art. The ceremony will honor the work of muralists Alex Cook, Pasqualina Azzarello and Sunny Hossain, a student at P.S. 993 at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts. The team of artists collaborated to create a new mural at 46-01 5th Street, on the corner of 46th Avenue, to replace a fading work of art. Light refreshments will be served at the ceremony.
The mural was not only a collaboration of artists, but also of community partners. Recycle-A-Bicycle (RAB), a nonprofit that provides environmental education and job training for youth, had a mural outside its workshop that was in desperate need of cosmetic work. Edward Fernbach, a teacher at P.S. 993, is a firm believer in connecting young people to opportunities that allow them to make a difference in the community. One of his students, Hossain, was looking for a way to utilize his artistic talent. Fernbach got to work as a matchmaker. He got in touch with muralist and former RAB Executive Director Azzarello, who rose to the challenge. She called upon fellow artist, Cook, to collaborate with Hossain and asked Plaxall, which owns the building, for permission to do an entire makeover on the mural and to cover the cost of paint. The team of muralists shared design ideas and went to work painting an entirely new mural in place of the old one.
The mural is located next to the Rockaway Brewing Company. The building, which was a former meatpacking plant, is home to Recycle-A-Bicycle and the LIC Community Boathouse, thanks to the generosity of Plaxall.
