STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. A New York City developer must pay a penalty for cleaning graffiti off his building. Years ago, Jerry Wolkoff let graffiti artists paint on his warehouse. Later, he wanted to make it into condos. The artists sued, saying their creation was the world's largest open-air aerosol museum. Wolkoff thought he had the right to destroy it, but a judge found he failed to wait for a lawsuit or for permits, so now he must pay $6.7 million. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.