Banksy has been getting on my nerves since my London days. I remember all the Brits gushing over the street artist and personally I didn’t ‘get it’. Don’t get me wrong, I see the appeal and the excitement surrounding his secret identity, a political artist of our time, but all the hype went right over my head. And now he’s been in NYC, traversing our five boroughs for three weeks, and I just keep wondering, when is he going to realize that we just don’t buy it? First off, stenciling rats? As if we need MORE RATS?! Now Banksy has taken his residency to the South Bronx and spray-painted ‘GHETTO 4 LIFE’ on 153rd Street and Elton Ave. Really? Did the white Englishman think it OK to further appropriate the word so many people shrug off as acceptable? Nuyorican Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. had a few words to say. See his full statement below:
Last week, world-renowned street artist Banksy brought his five borough exhibition to the Bronx for the first time, in the form of a traveling Ronald McDonald statue. At the time, I told those who asked that I was happy that our borough was a part of the exhibition, that we were not left out of a major worldwide news event. I was happy that people from all over the city, and travelers from across the world, were coming to the Bronx in search of this art.
New visitors offer the Bronx a chance to show off the great progress we have made. In fact, when we found Banksy’s statue last week, I was able to discuss the history of Charlotte Street with several individuals who had never been to that area before. I was able to tell them how that neighborhood, which had once been a symbol of urban blight, had now become a model of homeownership and community spirit. I was able to showcase the continued growth of the Bronx, the ‘New Bronx.’
A major reason we showcase the ‘New Bronx’ at every turn is to break the destructive stereotypes and images that the Bronx has been forced to deal with for decades. We have been pushing back against an unjust, and often untrue, narrative since the 1970’s, and some people do not seem to want to give us any credit for our growth and improvement, no matter how obvious it may be.
Our borough has taken huge leaps forward. Crime is down. New businesses are coming to the Bronx. Everywhere I go I hear from Bronxites that they are proud to live here, and are proud of the renaissance our borough has seen and continues to see.
And then, Banksy spray paints ‘Ghetto 4 Life’ on a Bronx wall, drawing those aforementioned visitors to the Bronx to gawk and throwing a wrench in our efforts to rebrand our borough. Many Bronxites are upset at Banksy’s choice of words, and they are right to be upset. We are not ‘Ghetto 4 Life,’ we are a vibrant borough of diverse communities. We are a place where people are living the American Dream. To 1.4 million people we are home, and Banksy would do well to remember that before he traffics in ancient stereotypes about our borough.
Unfortunately, hundreds of people will travel to the Bronx today to look at a wall that says ‘ghetto’ on it. I would ask that they visit ilovethebronx.com to learn about all the great things that are happening in the Bronx, and I invite them to take in one of our many cultural attractions or world-class restaurants while they are here.
As for Banksy, he should be aware that graffiti art and graffiti culture originated in the Bronx. Perhaps it would be a better use of his talents to help us tell the story of the ‘New Bronx,’ rather than recycle outdated negative stereotypes.