Goodbye, Banksy
A family in Brooklyn just got a significant windfall—about $500,000—after selling a Banksy mural featuring a small robot, which adorned a Coney Island building for the past 13 years.
Richard Ruocco indicated that their lengthy pursuit to profit from the “tagging robot” mural wrapped up last month. An art company took down an entire brick wall at Stilwell and Neptune streets to ship it to a trendy brewery in Connecticut.
“The Brooklyn family has hit the jackpot!” Ruocco humorously remarked to a reporter on Wednesday.
Since that fateful October night in 2013, when the mysterious artist left his mark after Superstorm Sandy, the Ruoccos had been eager to cash in on the piece.
The artwork, which the family endearingly refers to as “Mr. Robot,” shows an android spray-painting barcodes and was part of a series of similar murals Banksy created globally during that time.
Initially, the family didn’t realize they were in possession of a masterpiece until a crowd started gathering to see the mural, which had gone viral.
They soon contemplated ways to protect Mr. Robot, like installing a roll-down gate and hiring security, while also considering bulk sales in the art market.
“Why not? What else could we do? Leaving it on the wall would likely mean losing money,” Ruocco, a cousin of the Russo family behind popular eateries like Gargiulo’s, explained.
However, as the initial excitement surrounding Banksy faded, finding buyers became a challenge. That is, until Ruocco’s brother stumbled upon news that a beer garden in Connecticut had acquired another Banksy work from the mural’s era.
Last February, Foolproof Brewery in Bridgeport unveiled a mural featuring a boy spray-painting “Ghetto 4 Life,” which drew some criticism for being disrespectful to the neighborhood.
According to Ruocco, his brother reached out to the brewery and “brokered a deal” for their mural. They eventually adjusted their asking price, making it more appealing for the buyer, who ended up paying about $75,000 for shipping the artwork.
The mural will join another of Banksy’s works at the Foolproof Brewery in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Foolproof representatives did not reply immediately to inquiries about the deal.
Ruocco, keeping details under wraps, hinted that the sum the family received was “less than $500,000,” saying it felt too personal to disclose further.
The proceeds were evenly split among himself and his five brothers, enough for each to potentially buy a nice car. “We’re a fair family, just as our parents wanted,” he noted.
While one brother is already on a cruise, Ruocco fantasized about expanding his car collection, admitting his wife would likely insist he get rid of one vehicle first.
The Ruocco brothers, now all retired, plan to sell the building that once housed the Banksy mural. It was formerly the site of Aiello’s Catering, a family-run business from the ’80s to the ’90s.
