Tour The Brooklyn Neighborhood That's Become New York's New Street Art Mecca

Queens' longtime graffiti mecca 5Pointz was recently whitewashed ahead of its imminent demolition, to be replaced by luxury condos.

But street art culture is alive and well in other parts of the city. In Brooklyn, the Bushwick Collective at Troutman Street and St. Nicholas Avenue is emerging as a new destination for street artists.

The vast outdoor art gallery is curated by Joseph Ficalora, a longtime neighborhood resident. He's thrilled with the transformation after seeing crime and graffiti plague the area.

Ficalora, whose family owns a steel fabrication plant in Bushwick, coordinated with other local building owners to find and provide empty walls for street artists. They have come from as far as France and Italy, as well as right here in the U.S. like the Iranian duo Icy and Sot, who moved for political asylum.

"The place is buzzing," street art aficionado Spencer Elzey told Business Insider. "There are cycles where two or three new walls go up in a week or two."

Elzey gave us an insider's tour of the Bushwick Collective, starting at Jefferson Street and Wyckoff Avenue.