A federal judge awarded $6.7 million to 21 graffiti artists who once covered the 5Pointz building in Long Island City in Queens, NY, with dozens of murals.

Developers Jerry and David Wolkoff painted over the graffiti murals before they demolished the building to make way for the development of two giant rental towers.

Since the 1990s, the Wolkoffs had an informal agreement that allowed the artists to paint walls, making the empty building a famous tourist attraction. The artists have sued on the grounds that they weren’t given time to preserve their murals.

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