The new wooden griffin by Giant Robots on Meserole St.

A menacing new presence has appeared among the warehouses of Bushwick in the form of a 15-foot-tall wooden griffin. This would-be predator appeared on a rooftop corner a couple weeks ago, its hands gripping the ledges of its new nest while leaning over the side to gaze menacingly at its territory below. At night, it is lit by the shine of spotlights, making its presence known for blocks in the desolate streets.

Two traveling Brits from the Giant Robots artist collective brought it to life when they passed through Brooklyn. “Our passion is to produce sculptures in a situation that the audience would find bizarre, out of context if you like,” an anonymous member of the collective explains. “You would expect a piece of graffiti on a wall, but would you expect a giant wooden hand or bird on the roof of a building?” They came to the U.S. on funds raised by selling pieces through the funding web site Kickstarter in order to work with disadvantaged kids in an area shelter.

The creature’s existence is only due to their serendipitous introduction to Jay Leritz, owner of nearby Yummus Hummus and manager of a number of local buildings. He happened to see the pair taking photos one night and struck up a conversation. Once he learned what they did, he jumped at the chance to help them out, found the rooftop site for them, and even let them build the griffin in his woodshop a block away from the site.

“I’m trying to develop a sense of community in the area and turn this spot into the hub of it,” Leritz says. “There’s so much going on here, but hardly anyone knows each other.” He has also coordinated a number of murals on the walls within the scrutiny of the griffin, including works painted by Gaia, a well known street artist.

While building in his woodshop, the pair exchanged a couple quick sketches and words before basically winging the project, constructing it out of old wood palettes. “They seemed to just be on the same wavelength, it was amazing,” recalls Leritz. “One of their sketches was nothing but scribbles, but it seemed to communicate their idea well enough.” It is their first international project, as well as their first rooftop piece.

The artists realize their uniqueness. “Robots is the joint psychosis of a number of people who can’t get jobs anywhere else,” one of the members says. And they also share Levitz’s goal of community building. “A mission of ours is to mix our good fortunes with helping others, especially kids. They really understand what we do, they are a joy to work with.”

Expect to see more from them this October when they plan to return.