Just days after its initial unveiling, a mural designed by famous artist Kenny Scharf and commissioned by Friends of the East River Esplanade has gone missing, DNAinfo reports. So much for that beautification project. The 60-foot long, seven-foot tall mural was put up on Wednesday in an effort to attract visitors to the East Harlem waterfront, but the mural was clipped off of the fence sometime between Saturday and Sunday.
Scharf’s work is well-known—a mural of his once padded Houston and Bowery—and the heist, according to a member of Friends of the East River Esplanade, was "so professional." "These were double braided steel ties. You had to really go with pliers, this is not like taking scotch tape off the wall kind of thing," the same member elaborated to DNAinfo.
The mural was intended to remain in place through September, and another, still-remaining work is intended to stay in place through September 2017. The mural cost Friends of the East River Esplanade $2,000 to print. Should the original not be returned, they will simply print another.