It’s supposed to be street art, but good luck actually seeing this piece.
A metal security gate was rolled down over a wall displaying elusive British artist Banksy’s geisha graffiti in Brooklyn on Sunday — leaving his fans griping that they couldn’t enjoy the work.
“I don’t think Banksy would be OK with this,” groused Nick Bakshi, 25, who works in advertising and lives in the Williamsburg neighborhood.
“Maybe the [building] owner has good intentions, but this is messed up. I guess I’ll go look for another one of his pieces.”
Also disappointed was Catherine Wolinsky, 25, of Williamsburg, who had been “really excited to come see Banksy’s new art.”
“I understand that the owner of the building is trying to preserve the art and prevent it from being defaced. That’s all good,” said Wolinsky, a researcher and editor.
“But on the other hand, now the public can’t even look at it. So this really defeats the whole purpose.”
Members of the Tabachnick family, who own the building at 48 Graham Ave., didn’t return requests for comment.
The family installed the roll-down gate after a masked Banksy-hater last week sprayed it with black paint — which was quickly removed by fans of the artist using alcohol pads and baby wipes.
Meanwhile, the owner of the building with Banksy’s newest piece, on the Upper West Side, invited the artist back for an encore.
“It’s fabulous,” said building co-owner and deli magnate Saul Zabar. “It’s not graffiti. It’s really artistic. I’d like him to do more work on the building. I’d be delighted.”
The piece is a stenciled silhouette of a little boy hammering a standpipe like a “high striker” test of strength at a carnival.
“It’s fun,” the 85-year-old Zabar said. “The kids were putting their heads on the standpipe, participating in the art. People are interacting and reacting — it’s really street theater.”
Zabar said that Banksy probably chose the space because it is well-lit and has a lot of pedestrian traffic.
The owner had a plexiglass sheet installed on the wall Sunday night to protect the work from vandals.
For a short time garbage bags were leaning against the plexiglass wall, placed there by the store’s workers. One of them insisted they weren’t trashing the art, saying it’s where they always leave the garbage. The bags were later pushed aside by fans.
Earlier in the day, bystanders intercepted a would-be defacer, who was wearing a gray hoodie and had a red cloth covering the bottom of his face.
“I heard the shaking of a spray-paint can and just came running in,” said Luis Bierman, 31. “It’s sad. People come from all over the city to see this. They don’t want to see it ruined.”
Additional reporting by Joe Tacopino and Elizabeth Ferguson