By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
LOWER EAST SIDE — Shepard Fairey's Houston Street mural has taken such a beating, its lower half has been replaced by plywood.
For months, the massive work at the corner with Bowery has been defaced by graffiti, pocked with holes from where people bashed it in and had huge chunks torn out.
To cover up the damage, crews installed a series of wooden panels along the mural's lower section last week that was promptly scrawled over with a crude image.
Adding insult to injury, the city determined the mural was an illegal advertisement for Fairey’s May art show and ruled the wall had been erected with proper permits.
The artist, who skyrocketed to fame with his iconic “HOPE” portrait of President Barack Obama, explained while putting up the mural in April that he expected the piece “may get dissed,” adding, “that’s the nature of street art — it’s democratic.”
According to Deitch Projects, the gallery that hosted Fairey's May exhbition, the mural is scheduled to remain at the site until the end of the year.
