Metro

Trashed Banksy art could be worth $200,000

It’s the most valuable “garbage” in the city.

Cops in Queens squeezed the air out of a balloon installation by notorious street artist Banksy and then stuffed it in a trash bag — even though the piece could be worth as much as $200,000.

Two men arrested for trying to make off with the art in Long Island City claim cops at the 108th Precinct treated the blow-up work like a day-old birthday party favor.

“When we were in the holding cell, you could see the Banksy in the evidence room and every time they opened the door we got a glimpse of it,” said 25-year-old subway performer David Aguilar.

“It was deflated and on the ground. I don’t think officers understood who or what Banksy’s artwork is — I had to constantly spell his name for them,” he told The Post. “When I saw it on floor like that, I told one of the officers to protect it, so they put it in a garbage bag.”

Aguilar now wants cops to cough up the artwork so that he and fellow artists can hang it in a gallery — even though he has no legal claim to it, he said.

Aguilar is one of three men arrested at a Long Island City warehouse where Banksy hung the inflatable letters spelling his alias on Thursday.

Another one of the men arrested, Ronald Galarza, 24, a graffiti “artist” who uses the moniker “Sonar,” claimed he was merely trying to protect the artwork.

“We wanted to preserve it, not to steal it. I asked my friend to go get a ladder and we took it down letter by letter,” Galarza told The Post.

“I wanted to hold it in my house or warehouse. I would have put it in an art museum along with my stuff,” he said.

Police sources said the NYPD is required to keep the Banksy piece as evidence in pending cases.

The owners of the building could not be reached for comment.

Galarza was charged with criminal mischief, making graffiti and possession of graffiti instruments. Aguilar was charged with criminal trespassing.

Jimmy Chiang, a 31-year-old photographer, was also arrested at the scene and charged with criminal mischief on Thursday.

All were released on their own recognizance on Friday.

“We risked our lives for historical art,” Aguilar said after his arraignment. “I had to laugh about the whole thing. All the three of us were all handcuffed together — this is the ultimate Banksy experience.”

Another artist, Jaime Rojo, 53, received a summons for disorderly conduct but wasn’t charged with a crime.