NEIGHBOURS have been left fuming over a giant Calvin Klein billboard eclipsing a street – and the council say it’s illegal.
Actor Jeremy Allen White’s abs currently adorn the Hackney hoarding that stretches 20 metres across four properties.
Its left some locals outraged and others quite happy they get to see the hunky American actor up close.
A neighbour who lives across the road told The Sun: “It’s huge – it covers the whole top floors of that building.
“I don’t have a problem with the board myself. I’d hardly call Jeremy Allen White in his Calvin Klein pants an eyesore.
“But that hostel used to be very nice and trendy, it was popular with people coming to Shoreditch who would spend money in cafes and bars up and down the street.
“It’s now pretty seedy, I think it’s mainly used by homeless people.
“It looks pretty grotty from across the street and you have some fairly rough types loitering outside, I’ve heard about all sorts going on in there.
“And it’s just surrounded by vacant lots to the side and across the street.
“I think the billboard might have put people off doing it up and making something nice out it when the rest of the area is gentrifying.
“I can’t imagine much light gets through or that you get much of a view out of the window.
“And it’s a bit of an early morning din when they take down the last poster and put up a new one.
“That’s probably what the council mean by calling it a blight.”
The 20m by 8m hoarding is flood lit and has 24-hour light on the American actor lying in jeans and a jean vest.
Another local told The Telegraph Allen White is “a great actor but these adverts are a blight on the area”.
He added: “Think of the poor people who live in the flats behind them. They won’t be getting the money but have to live in a dark home.”
The billboard is run by blowUPmedia who say 28,000 people a year view it.
A Hackney council spokesman said: “The council investigated this matter in autumn 2020 and concluded that the advertisement was unlawful.
“A ‘removal notice’ was issued in October of the same year, but an appeal was made against the notice to the magistrates’ court.
“We will follow the process through and take appropriate action in due course.
“In Hackney, we have seen previous cases of advert installed illegally, with owners failing to remove them despite enforcement attempts, showing not just the greed of some landlords but also the challenges councils face preventing this kind of advertising.”
Hackney Council and blowUPmedia have been approached for comment.
