Three weeks after The Villager first reported that Julian Schnabel’s Palazzo Chupi’s paint had drastically faded from Pompeii red to practically invisible pink, workers were continuing to erect scaffolding higher and higher around the luxury W. 11th St. tower, as seen in these recent photos. They started about a week ago. On Monday, asked if the building was being prepped for a fresh painting, a worker there shrugged and shook his head, indicating he didn’t know. After taking a break on the sidewalk with his fellow workers — who were speaking together in Spanish — he clambered back up a ladder to continue assembling the scaffolding and laying boards around the enigmatic high-rise. A man who was sitting outside smoking who said he tends the plants on the building’s balconies likewise said he didn’t really know what was up. Doubting it’s a paint job, he figured it’s probably “something else.” Speculation is high, however, that famed artist Schnabel is indeed getting set to paint again — the building, that is.
Lincoln Anderson
