5Pointz Graffiti Factory

5Pointz is a converted industrial complex in Long Island City, Queens which now houses artists' studios. The exterior is an outdoor art exhibit space which has achieved notoriety as a so-called "graffiti mecca." Talented graffiti artists from all over the globe flock to use its walls as a canvas. The 200,000-square-foot factory building is prominently visible from the elevated 7 train as it worms its way into Court Square, though the artwork is best admired at close range. Amazing what can be done with a spray can and a flat surface.

There are mutterings of bulldozing the place to make room for high-priced condos, which would be a shame because this is a real slice of quintessential New York. And such slices are too frequently being gobbled up by a profit-hungry real estate market.