DaFlemingo for 108 St. Edwards

Stonewall is a new affordable housing development at 108 St. Edwards Street in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, serving the elderly LGBTQ+ community adjacent to Fort Greene Park. The project called for large-scale exterior artwork on the West and South Elevations that would serve as a neighborhood landmark and a statement of identity for its residents and the surrounding community.

WXLLSPACE engaged Westhab and Slate Property Group as the end-to-end commissioning partner, sourcing artist Darion Fleming (Da Flemingo) from a field of over 2,000 proposals and managing every phase of production: site intake, concept development, NYC DOT permitting, insurance compliance, and a 12-week installation on an active site with strict access restrictions.

The result: a 4,755 SQFT hyper-realistic mural featuring diverse children and neighborhood-specific references, installed across two exterior elevations and delivered on schedule despite five full days of weather-related shutdowns and 211 total hours of delay.

Large-scale public art commissioning on an active affordable housing site in New York City carries distinct layers of complexity. For Stonewall, those layers compounded: a technically demanding wall surface, strict site access windows, an exhaustive insurance compliance process, and an extended summer weather season all ran simultaneously.

Westhab and Slate Property Group had no internal art director or production resource to manage the commission. WXLLSPACE filled that role from the first stakeholder call through final delivery.

What made this project complex

• A porous EFIS wall surface. The Exterior Insulation and Finish System wall required dedicated caulking of expansion joints and a full priming phase before painting could begin. Material consumption exceeded initial estimates due to higher-than-anticipated surface absorption, contributing to a budget adjustment.
• 211 hours of weather-related delay. Summer rain caused five full lost working days and approximately 211 total hours of production downtime across the 12-week install window.
• Restricted site access in early phases. Week 1 included mandatory early closures at 3:00 PM. Saturday work was prohibited until Week 3 of production, compressing the usable schedule in the opening weeks.
• NYC DOT permitting for a high-visibility public walkway. Lift access on the public walkway required a full DOT permit and coordinated gate management for equipment positioning throughout the project.
• Over 100 pages of insurance documentation. Labor law exclusions, ownership and GC-specific endorsements, and vetting through E-Track required active compliance management before production could begin.
• A hard artist schedule requiring precise coordination. With a confirmed window for Darion Fleming, site delays could not push the artist. Every schedule disruption required real-time re-coordination across WXLLSPACE Production, SD Builders, and Westhab property management.

Schedule

‍The original timeline ran June 1 to July 20, 2025. It extended to August 26, 2025 due to weather delays and site access restrictions. The artist's calendar was confirmed and could not move again, meaning every site delay required real-time re-coordination around a hard window.

Access

‍Week 1 included mandatory early site closures at 3:00 PM daily. Saturday work was prohibited through Week 2. The public walkway required NYC DOT permitting for lift access, plus coordinated gate management for equipment positioning throughout the project.

Safety

‍Strict PPE and lift operation protocols were in place for high-altitude work on the 150 FT straight boom lift. The 100 FT wall height required an experienced painting assistant qualified for high-altitude operations alongside the artist.

Weather

‍Summer rain caused five full lost production days and approximately 211 total hours of downtime across the install window.

Brand and compliance

‍Over 100 pages of insurance documentation were required, including labor law exclusions and ownership and GC-specific endorsements vetted through E-Track. NYC DOT permitting had to be secured before lift access could begin.

WXLLSPACE managed every phase of this commission from initial stakeholder engagement through final delivery and media closeout.

Site intake and surface review

Prior to production, WXLLSPACE conducted a structural review of the EFIS wall to identify soft spots, expansion joints, and surface conditions affecting adhesion and material consumption. Findings from this review informed the pre-production caulking and priming phase that preceded artist commencement.

Artist sourcing and selection

WXLLSPACE reviewed over 2,000 proposals through its marketplace platform. Three finalists were shortlisted and presented to the project team before Darion Fleming was selected based on his hyper-realistic style, scale experience, and the thematic fit of his work with the Stonewall community's identity and goals.

Concept development and revision

Fleming's initial concept for the commission transitioned from an earlier "Flower Girl" direction to a hyper-realistic, child-focused composition featuring neighborhood-specific interactive elements. The revised concept was reviewed and approved by the development team before production began.

Compliance and permitting

WXLLSPACE managed the full compliance scope for the project, including:

1. NYC DOT permit application for lift access on the public walkway adjacent to the site.
2. Walkway gate coordination throughout the installation for equipment positioning and public access management.
3. Insurance documentation assembly, including labor law exclusions and ownership and GC-specific endorsements, totaling over 100 pages.
4. Vetting and approval of all documentation through the E-Track platform prior to production commencement.

Pre-production phase: caulking and priming

A dedicated pre-production phase ran from June 2 to June 5, 2025. The team caulked expansion joints in the EFIS surface using Dowsil paintable caulk and completed a full primer application to address surface absorption before Darion Fleming commenced painting on June 5.

Stakeholder communication

WXLLSPACE provided daily photo updates to Westhab's executive team throughout the production period. Progress was shared with Andrew Germansky (Senior Vice President of Real Estate) as the primary stakeholder contact. Organizational leadership engagement was reported as strongly positive throughout the installation.

Installation

Darion Fleming and one painting assistant operated the 150 FT straight boom lift supplied by Sunbelt Rentals across a 12-week install window running June 1 to August 26, 2025. The window was extended from the original 7-week plan due to weather delays and site access restrictions in early phases. Week 1 closures at 3:00 PM and a Saturday work prohibition through Week 2 compressed the early production schedule. Rain events caused five complete lost days and approximately 211 total hours of downtime. WXLLSPACE coordinated schedule adjustments and artist availability in real time to protect delivery. Quality control included continuous progress tracking through the WXLLSPACE app and drone photography for final media documentation.

Install Window

June 1, 2025 to August 26, 2025 (approximately 12 weeks)

Original Planned Window

June 1 to July 20, 2025 (7 weeks)

Weather Delay

5 full lost days; approximately 211 total hours of delay

Team and Stakeholders

Crew

Darion Fleming / Da Flemingo (lead artist)

One experienced high-altitude painting assistant

Primary Developer Contacts

Andrew Germansky, SVP of Real Estate, Westhab, Inc.

Slate Property Group

General Contractor

SD Builders and Construction LLC

Architect

Aufgang Architects

NYC DOT

Permitting contact for manlift access

Mural Specifications

Total Mural Size

4,755 SQFT

Wall Elevations

West and south exterior elevations

Surface Type

EFIS (Exterior Insulation and Finish System)

Wall Height

100 feet

Equipment and Materials

Access Equipment

150-foot straight manlift (Sunbelt Rentals)

Materials

Sherwin-Williams latex paint

Aerosol paint

Dowsil paintable caulk for expansion joints

Installation Conditions

Daily Working Hours

Subject to early 3:00 PM closures in week one

Saturday restrictions through week two

Schedule

‍The original timeline ran June 1 to July 20, 2025. It extended to August 26, 2025 due to weather delays and site access restrictions. The artist's calendar was confirmed and could not move again, meaning every site delay required real-time re-coordination around a hard window.

Access

‍Week 1 included mandatory early site closures at 3:00 PM daily. Saturday work was prohibited through Week 2. The public walkway required NYC DOT permitting for lift access, plus coordinated gate management for equipment positioning throughout the project.

Safety

‍Strict PPE and lift operation protocols were in place for high-altitude work on the 150 FT straight boom lift. The 100 FT wall height required an experienced painting assistant qualified for high-altitude operations alongside the artist.

Weather

‍Summer rain caused five full lost production days and approximately 211 total hours of downtime across the install window.

Brand and compliance

‍Over 100 pages of insurance documentation were required, including labor law exclusions and ownership and GC-specific endorsements vetted through E-Track. NYC DOT permitting had to be secured before lift access could begin.