Earlier this week, we told you about a two-story mural of The Notorious B.I.G. in the rapper’s Brooklyn neighborhood that was being “held hostage” by the owner of the building on which it’s painted. Due to increased property value in the area, the landlord was set on making upgrades so that he could raise the building’s rent. The proposed renovations would have added new windows, forcing the mural to be destroyed.

A petition to name the “notorious” painting a landmark and protect its removal gained more than 3000 signatures before the initiative was halted at the request of Spread Art NYC, the collective whose members Naoufal “Rocko” Alaoui and Scott “Zimer” Zimmerman created the mural in 2015, who assured petitioners that they were working on a plan to remedy the situation.

Now, we are happy to report that thanks to help from several local organizations, Atlanta rapper/actor TI, a high-ranking member of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets Community Relations team and, ultimately, a sympathetic change of heart by the building’s landlords, the mural is now safe–and the “King of NY” will continue to reign supreme over the corner of Bedford and Quincy!

As Spread Art NYC stated in their Instagram thank you post, “Thank you Brooklyn! And a very very special thanks to the landlords for recognizing the importance of Biggie in this neighborhood! First we would like to thank both the Mayor’s and congressman Jeffries offices for reaching out and offering all kinds of support to keep this iconic mural where it is! We also would like to thank every single local organization for coming forward with their resources . We would like to thank all the companies for offering financial support. ATLANTA has got so much love for Biggie! Thank you TI @troubleman31 for having your team contact us on a daily basis to get the updates. Special thanks to Mr. Guevara from @brooklynnets for the daily phone calls to make sure we get all the needed resources. We would like to thank all of you who have stood besides us! PLEASE if you see the landlords, THANK them for this generous gift to our community!! ! Happy Belated Birthday, King!!!” 

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He may be gone, but theres no denying that even to this day, Brooklyn is Biggie’s town. Congratulations to everyone involved in saving this mural and keeping Bed-Stuy B.I.G.!