Greetings from Sunnyside

The first Greetings from Sunnyside mural had been part of this corner in Sunnyside, Queens since 2010. When the wall began to crumble, the building owners had to restucco it, and the painting disappeared with the repair. The same family that hosted the original organized a neighborhood fundraiser, raising more than $7,000 to bring it back.

Victor Ving of Greetings Tour, a frequent collaborator and the artist behind the original design, asked American Mural to repaint it on the restored wall. Letter by letter, we rebuilt the postcard with the 7 train, Sunnyside Gardens, the Sunnyside Arch, the Queensboro Bridge, and other pieces of neighborhood history. NBC/Universal had also worked directly with Greetings Tour to turn that postcard language into the logo and key art for the 2019 comedy Sunnyside.

The best part of repainting it was all the people who came by to say hi. Neighbors stopped to tell us how much they had missed the mural, and people who knew Victor from high school stopped to catch up. John Dias from CBS News New York stopped by while we worked and reported on the community effort. The original also helped discourage vandalism, and we hope the new painting does the same. More importantly, Sunnyside has one of its landmarks back. We’re proud to have played a part in its return!