By Leslie Albrecht
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — A well-known sidewalk artist whose work was destroyed at the request of residents in a nearby apartment building has gotten an apology from the building's board president.
He could get a check, too.
Chris Hajian, board president at The Boulevard at 2373 Broadway, said he was out of town when someone at the building decided to power wash away a chalk and oil pastel sidewalk painting down the block from the building's entrance.
Hajian said he would have fought the decision to remove the artwork of Hani Shihada had he been in town.
He called Shihada Tuesday to personally apologize.
Hajian also said he's going to ask his fellow board members to compensate Shihada for the lost work.
"I know that doesn't bring back the artwork, but my heart is in that place," Hajian said.
Hajian, a film music composer whose mother is an artist, said he was shocked when he saw DNAinfo's story this week about the destroyed artwork.
He said he was especially troubled that people would think the residents of The Boulevard, a luxury building where a two-bedroom apartment is on the market for $1.47 million, were anti-art.
"By no means does this indicate what The Boulevard is about," Hajian said. "The intent was not any kind of malicious yuppies in a luxury building saying, 'let's take off a piece of art.'"
The board president reeled off a series of culturally and socially conscious issues his building has been involved in, including making "substantial donations" to the Broadway Malls, homeless charities and Goddard Riverside Community Center. The building's board even helped get two local homeless men off the streets and into social service programs, he said.
"It's been a really important thing for me to instill to our shareholders that we're part of the Upper West Side, not just a little building here," Hajian said. "That's why I'm trying so hard to make amends."
Some residents in the building objected to Shihada working at Broadway and West 87th Street because the corner is already busy with street vendors, Hajian said, adding, "Some people think it's graffiti, some people think it's art."
Shihada said he was still struggling to come to terms with the loss of the artwork, a drawing of Haitian children in a tobacco field. Shihada had started the piece about a month ago and worked on it for eight to 10 hours a day, weather permitting.
He was planning to return to the sidewalk to put the finishing touches on the drawing when a passer-by called him to say the painting had been nearly erased.
Shihada frequently paints Renaissance works by artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael. Recreating the photo of the Haitian children was a departure and a challenge that he said was close to his heart.
"I really cared about this one," Shihada said. "The more I think about it now, it's a really big loss for me."
He added, "I'm going to start a new painting somewhere and I'm going to have this fear inside me."
Shihada said he appreciated the apology and the offer of money. But he noted that he's "not good at even talking about money" and had no idea what an appropriate amount would be.
Shihada said commuting to and from the city from his home in Port Jervis probably costs about $50 round-trip.
"As much as I need money, I don't know if money is going to solve the issue," Shihada said.
"I want understanding and I want to prevent this from happening again. What am I doing wrong? Tell me. I'd like to know why, the real reason behind it."
