FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 13, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
Prodigy mural in Long Island City
defaced, restored and vandalized again
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @
AngelaMatua
A mural to honor the late rapper
Prodigy in Long Island City
was defaced on Saturday, and
aft er artists restored the piece, it
was vandalized a second time on
Monday.
Artists Jeff Henriquez and
Eli Lazare unveiled the fi nished
mural on July 6, about three weeks
aft er Prodigy, 42, died of complications
with sickle cell anemia.
Th e piece, which stands at
13th Street and 40th Avenue, was
celebrated by the Queensbridge
Houses community, who laid out
candles around the mural.
On Saturday, July 8, someone
splattered white paint all over
the mural. Th e artists retouched
the mural on Sunday only to fi nd
it covered in red paint one day
later.
Henriquez on Sunday posted
a photo of the restored mural on
Instagram.
“THE RESURRECTION. Th e
hood love is strong! 15 hours in
one shot to bring back our fallen
hip hop general,” he said. “Sadly
I expect my wall to get hit again.
But regardless. Th e statement we
made today represents the resilience
of a community and a deep
love for one man. I’m honored to
have been asked to do the piece.”
Henriquez seems to be clairvoyant
because one day aft er the
post, the piece was hit again.
Prodigy, whose real name was
Albert Johnson, started Mobb
Deep with Queensbridge resident
Havoc, or Kejuan Muchita, in
the early ’90s. Prodigy grew up
on Long Island and LeFrak City
in Corona and met Havoc when
they were both attending High
School for Art and Design in
Manhattan.
Mobb Deep became one of the
most successful rap duos, selling
more than three million albums
and gaining critical acclaim with
“The Infamous,” which was
released in 1995.
Th e group went on an indefi -
nite hiatus in 2012 but released a
new album called “Th e Infamous
Mobb Deep” in 2014.
Photo via Instagram/zurbaran1
A mural to honor the rapper Prodigy was defaced twice.
Introducing Another Great Rate from Flushing Bank
Maximum
1.25%
Money Market APY1
$25,000 minimum deposit
To qualify you must also open a Flushing Bank Complete Checking Plus or Premier account2 which provides you
with access to over 55,000 ATMs, ATM fee rebates, mobile banking and mobile check deposit.
For more information and to find out about our other great offers, visit your local Flushing Bank branch, call
800.581.2889 (855.540.2274 TTY/TDD) or visit www.FlushingBank.com.
Small enough to know you.
Large enough to help you.
1 New personal Maximum Money Market account and new money only. APY effective June 12, 2017. Annual percentage yield assumes principal and interest remain on deposit for a full
year at current rate. Minimum deposit balance to open the Maximum Money Market account is $5,000. Funds cannot be transferred from an existing Flushing Bank account. The APY
for the Maximum Money Market account is 0.10% for daily account balances between $0 and $4,999, 0.15% for daily balances between $5,000 and $24,999, 1.25% for daily balances
between $25,000 and $74,999, 1.25% for daily balances between $75,000 and $99,999 and 1.25% for daily balances over $100,000. Rates may change at any time without notice. You
must maintain the stated tier balance for the statement cycle to receive the respective disclosed yield for that tier. 2 A Flushing Bank checking account with a $5,000
minimum balance is required to receive the advertised rate. Certain fees, minimum balance requirements and restrictions may apply. Speak with a Flushing Bank
representative for more details. Flushing Bank is a registered trademark