All Photos By Gail

On one not-so-sunny Saturday afternoon back in February, I went for a long walk — an Urban Art Safari as I like to call them — on the Lower East Side. This happened a full month before any kind of lockdown thing was even a glimmer of an idea, which you can tell because there are cars and people in the photos.

I didn’t realize at the time what a valuable resource the photos I took that day would become, as they now provide much-needed content for this blog. It’s not been easy to wander far from home in these past five or six weeks. Who’s even keeping track? Anyway, it must have been a very long time since I’d walked this particular route, because I discovered all kinds of cool street art that had in some cases been up for six months or longer. Time flies when you don’t know what you’re doing.

At the intersection of Chrystie and Broome there’s a building whose tenant is Tienley Enterprises, Inc., a company that offers the wholesale distribution of Asian groceries and related products. The eastern and southern-facing sides of this building are covered with colorful murals by renowned street artists Buff Monster, and John “Crash” Matos with BR163, respectively. Both murals were part of the Lisa Project in conjunction with the World Pride Mural Project  and went up in the late summer of 2019.

Buff Monster World Pride Mural Faces the Southbound Lane of Chrystie Street

I like this photo mostly for the surprised-looking guy taking on his phone while smoking a cigarette. I didn’t even notice him when I took the photo. Now, I feel he deserves to be so immortalized forever.

Here’s an almost identical shot without the guy. Tell me in the comments which one you like better.

You guys already know Mister Melty, right?

Here’s a rare — and very much appreciated — flash of blue sky!

Once we can travel freely again, I will perhaps return to the scene and take a few fresh snaps, because the mural is so detailed. If I could get one without any cars on the street, that would be super sweet.

Here’s a pretty nice shot of the Crash BR163 collaborative mural, which covers the Broome Street side of the building.

These Murals are Located at 125 Chrystie Street, Northwest Corner at Broome Street on the LES, NYC.