Banksy Returns to New York with 14th Street Rat

Banksy’s new rat at 14th Street and Sixth Avenue (all photos by Luna Park, and used with permission)

It’s been more than five years since Banksy’s famous New York City residency had street art fans and treasure hunters trekking all over town every day to see the secretive artist’s latest intervention. But it appears that Banksy is back in the Big Apple: This afternoon he posted an image on Instagram of one of his trademark rats painted on the face of a clock adorning a building façade, with the distinctive silhouette of the Empire State Building looming in the background. The clock in question adorns a former bank at the northwest corner of Sixth Avenue and 14th Street in Greenwich Village. The building is currently slated for demolition.

Since concluding his October 2013 “residency” in New York, Banksy has primarily focused on projects in the UK and the West Bank. Does the 14th Street rat mark the start of a new series in New York City?

Banksy’s new rat at 14th Street and Sixth Avenue

Banksy’s new rat at 14th Street and Sixth Avenue

Banksy’s new rat at 14th Street and Sixth Avenue