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It's fallen into such disrepair that most Bedford-Stuyvesant residents have no idea who is depicted on it, let alone the significance of the mural on the corner of Fulton Street and Verona Place.

"This one looks like it was a memorial to somebody, and it's really hard to read," said one resident.

The mural was painted in 1989 as a tribute to Yusef Hawkins, who was killed in the August of that year by white teens in a notorious hate crime in Bensonhurst.

Now artist Gabriel Specter is trying to preserve Hawkins' memory by updating the mural.

"This is part of New York history. These sorts of issues, people want to glaze over them. Racism is still part of our lives, and as much we want to forget about it and not think about it, it's still there and our history shows it," said Specter.

Specter is painting a picture of Hawkins surrounded by a wreath. He's doing the work in his studio on a material called parachute cloth. Specter plans to take the 14-by-14 foot work and apply it to the wall in the neighborhood where Hawkins lived.

"I cut it out of this material so it's just the painting. I take the painting afterwards and I adhere it, almost similar to the way you put wallpaper on to a wall," said Specter.

The wall stretches some 50 feet wide, and Specter hopes to recreate the entire mural. However, he needs the money to make it happen. Right now he's reached into this own pocket to cover materials, but he's hoping the community will pitch in to help him with the rest, after the initial part is up.

"I really want the work to be up first,” said Specter. “I want people to understand what I've done and I want them to also donate to it."

Those NY1 spoke with in the neighborhood like the idea.

"It's good for people to see him and be reminded about why he died for nothing — for hatred," said one resident.

Specter hopes to complete the mural by November.