June 28, 2022 By Michael Dorgan
Three large murals are being painted on the walls of a new 12-story apartment building currently being constructed in Long Island City.
The murals, created by two Brooklyn-based artists, are being painted on a new development called The Green House which is going up at 10-25 Jackson Ave. The 46-unit rental building is scheduled to open in September.
The couture-style, street art paintings, each measure around 9 stories tall and aim to bring character to the surrounding area, according to the developer.
Two of the murals — located on the rear walls of The Green House and face prominently onto Vernon Boulevard — were completed last week and consist of two dogs with human bodies. The dogs are dressed in denim jeans and black jackets with one of the dogs carrying a boombox on its shoulder. There is a distinctive green and orange colored background on both murals.
Work on the third mural begins today and it is going up on the side wall of the Green Room that faces the busy intersection of Vernon Boulevard and 50th Avenue. When completed, the mural will feature a red-haired woman wearing oversized sunglasses with a bird on her arm. The painting is expected to be completed by July 6.
The murals are being painted by Faile, two Brooklyn-based artists named Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller who have an international following. They are both known for blending fine art, street art, and popular culture together.
The developer of The Green House, Charney Companies, commissioned Faile to paint the murals as a means of enhancing the building and the neighborhood. Charney Companies is a Long Island City-based fully integrated development firm — headquartered on 46th Avenue.
“The artwork is really cool and visibly striking – it speaks to this idea of joining the building and the neighborhood,” said Andrew Steiker-Epstein, the vice president of sales, leasing and marketing at Charney Companies.
“We also associate the artwork to health and wellness and our holistic approach of creating well-crafted spaces that are designed with a lot of intention, and attention to detail.”
Steiker-Epstein said that Charney Companies has commissioned artwork with many of its developments. He said it has become a theme of the company’s development projects.
“It’s a big part of the brand — both the development side and our brokerage side –which elevates our projects to make them more sophisticated,” Steiker-Epstein said.
The company’s incorporation of artwork in its developments, Steiker-Epstein said, is driven by the firm’s owner Sam Charney who is an avid art collector.
The company has also commissioned another Brooklyn-based artist named Jen Lewin to create an interactive light installation for the lobby of The Green House, called Flux Chandelier. The building gets its name from its distinctive green terra cotta facade, mixed with bronze panels.
When the building is completed, all 46-units will be exclusively leased by The Nol Team at Charney Real Estate, the brokerage division of Charney Companies.
Each unit will come with floor-to-ceiling windows, concrete Caesarstone countertops as well as glass panelized appliances and cabinetry.
The building will have a residents’ lounge, a co-working lounge, a gym, and 40 parking spaces with electrical vehicle (EV) chargers. There will also be ground floor retail space.
There is a setback above the eighth floor of the building creating an outdoor terrace while there is also a rooftop area with a view of the Manhattan skyline.