Photos: Ghostface kills at Bushwick Collective Block Party's 10th anniversary

'This is amazing!' After sitting it out last summer, Bushwick Collective returned Saturday to celebrate its big birthday

By Scott Lynch

For a party that’s notorious for its live performances on an average year, the Bushwick Collective Block Party did not disappoint on its tenth anniversary bash. Thousands hit the streets on Saturday an all-day rager, highlighted by a free concert with a lineup that included Tony Moxberg, Water Team, Termanology, and the headliner, Wu-Tang’s Ghostface Killah.

The festivities came courtesy of Bushwick native Joe Ficalora, who launched the Bushwick Collective in 2012 as a way to cope with the loss of his monther, and comprised an open-air gallery celebrating graffiti and street art. Over the course of its decade, the Bushwick Collective’s street art community and its Block Party has helped transform the industrial area around the Jefferson Street L train station into both a vibrant nightlife destination and international tourist attraction—for better or worse—for a certain class of art lover.

“We couldn’t do this for you last year and it fucking sucked,” said Ficalora from the stage moments before Ghostface came on. “But I’m so grateful and happy that we all get to be out here today.”

Joe Ficalora (photo: Scott Lynch)

Artists Spiros Spiros, Ruben Ubeira, Cody James, Huetek, Golden, and Dragon76 spray-painted new murals for the occasion. Food, clothing, and merch vendors lined Troutman Street, beer and nutcrackers flowed freely, clouds of smoke hovered over the crowd the entire day, the rain mostly held off, the NYPD kept their distance, and the people watching was unsurpassed.

“This is amazing!” said Bed-Stuy crochet artist and dancer Fiya Of Love, who was in attendance. “The world’s been shut down for so long and now we’re out here with all these people and I feel the love in Brooklyn. I’m having a great time.”

A few scenes from the day: