As Banksy coverage this month has made The City go nuts over street art, it has also prompted a mad rush of other NYC graffiti artists to get in on a piece of the action. Artists tagging or defacing (depending on your point of view) most of Banksy’s public displays prompted Perry Levy, a Brooklynite who calls himself the #BanksyRestorationSociety, to go out and do his part to upkeep Banksy’s art. In a video by Animal, he expresses how “lame” it is that people deface the work of the artist who comes to NYC at a time when the city “needs all the love it can get.”

When someone stole the flower from the 9/11 memorial piece last week, Levy said in the interview, he had to get the right flower to replace it. He also bought extra flowers and left them there for the people who wanted to take the a flower for themselves, without disturbing the art piece. He has received mixed feedback about his restoration work, the guy who stole the original flower even threatened to “burn down” all the replacement flowers. For the most part, the street art community seems to be grateful for Levy’s work, especially his sense of responsibility for the art pieces. He calls the restored “You Complete Me” piece a “mashup” and says, “I [just] wanted to see the piece one more day. You know, the Mona Lisa piece was restored… I’m just trying to be a positive force, you know, in the sea of negativity.” Similarly, a team of construction workers placed plexiglass over “Concrete Confessional” at Cooper Union last week.

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Banksy’s work in “Better Out Than In”:
Banksy in NYC Day 21: “Ghetto 4 Life” in the South Bronx (153rd Street and Elton Ave.)

Banksy in NYC Day 20: “Hammer Boy” on the Upper West Side

Banksy in NYC Day 18: Banksy x Os Gemeos Open Air Gallery Under the High Line in Chelsea

Banksy in NYC Day 17: Japanese Footbridge Scene in Bed Stuy
Banksy in NYC Day 16: Shoe Shine, Ronald McDonald’s with Enormous Shoes in the Bronx
Banksy in NYC Day 15: Twin Towers Tribute in Tribeca
Banksy in NYC Day 14: What We Do in Life Echoes for Eternity
Banksy in NYC Day 13: Spray Art for Sale Ignored in a Stall at Central Park
Banksy in NYC Day 12: Concrete Confessional at Cooper Union
Banksy in NYC Day 11: Silence of the Lambs Slaughterhouse Truck
Banksy in NYC Day 10: Beaver with Downed No Parking Sign in East New York
Bansky in NYC Day 9: Night Vision Horses on Truck and Car in the Lower East Side
Banksy in NYC Day 8: Fake Plato Quote in Greenpoint
Banksy in NYC Day 7: Battle to Survive a Broken Heart in Brooklyn
Banksy in NYC Day 5: 3-D Mobile Waterfall on Inside of Truck Touring Daily
Banksy in NYC Day 4: OCCUPY! The Musical in Bushwick is Already Gone But Two Still Remain
Banksy in NYC Day 3: Dog Peeing on Fire Hydrant in “You Complete Me”
Yes, Banksy is in NYC for the Month: Live Feed
Banksy in NY: Graffiti is a Crime Poster