A well-known Queens graffiti “artist” was electrocuted by the third rail in a Brooklyn subway station, sources told The Post.
Underground graffiti legend Jason Wulf, 42, was found dead on the tracks just before 10 p.m. Wednesday at the 25th Street Station in Sunset Park, sources said. It’s unclear exactly what Wulf was doing right before he died, but the MTA said it is investigating the death.
A pal said it was possible Wulf was “tagging” — or about to. When cops arrived at the scene, they found him alone, sources said.
One source said Wulf had been heading from Brooklyn back home to Queens, where he lived with his fiancée and their dog.
Friends immediately began paying homage to their spray-painting pal by splashing his tag initials — “DG’’ — in the subway station where he died.
Extra cops were eventually dispatched to the 25th Street station Friday to keep the taggers away, so the friends began spray-painting Wulf’s tag in other stations and even on mailboxes.
They raised $10,000 online to pay for his funeral in just over a day. A wake for the underground artist will be held at Seneca Chapels followed by a funeral service at St. Matthias Church in Ridgewood, Queens, on Monday — and his casket will, fittingly, be white so that it can be covered in graffiti, according to an online posting by pals.
He had a talent that nobody had. It was more than tagging to him. It was an art. It was beautiful.
- June Lang, Wulf's friend
The street artist had been painting subway cars and buildings since 1985, producing “canvasses on par with those found in the world’s most prestigious art institutions,’’ one follower blogged after Wulf’s death.
“Despite his outpouring of creativity, he never embraced the art world or graffiti circuit. Although he sold canvasses, he represented that older-school breed of graffiti writer who had no interest in mainstream recognition,’’ the writer posted on animalnewyork.com.
“He also painted subway cars during the clean-train movement, a time period in the 1990s when many writers continued to hit trains regardless of the MTA’s strict buff policy.”
As the founder of “NWC,’’ or “New Wave Crew,’’ “his tags, his throw ups, his fill-ins, his pieces, his canvasses — were all dope,’’ the writer said. Wulf’s friend, June Lang, 37, of Maspeth, Queens, called the death “very sad.”
“It’s devastating,’’ Lang said. “He had a talent that nobody had. It was more than tagging to him. It was an art. It was beautiful. He would do side walls for businesses. He didn’t just do the trains; he did everything.
“I just spoke to him last week,’’ she added. “He made me a shirt and mailed it to me.’’
But while hailed by some as an artist, Wulf repeatedly got into trouble with the law over his spray-painting.
A police source said he had been arrested 13 times since 2008, including this past February for criminal mischief, graffiti and trespassing.
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Hagen and Kate Sheehy