By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
EAST VILLAGE — One of the last vestiges of the East Village bar scene appears to be cleaning up its act.
Mars Bar — the dependably dingy dive on First Street and Second Avenue — recently got an exterior paint job, obliterating the multiple layers of graffiti that covered the shabby facade for years.
But the new writing on the wall of the bar may catch some regulars off guard. The message reads: “Mars Bar NYC — Welcome.”
Given that so many uninitiated patrons have had unwelcome experiences inside the notoriously no-frills space — its bathroom alone has been labeled the filthiest in the city — it’s a wonder why the bar would be trying to broaden its customer base.
“I feel they shouldn't paint over the exterior or try anything to sugarcoat the reality that it's a messy dive filled with looney tunes, but as such is a New York institution” said Michael Musto, the longtime Village Voice columnist and downtown fixture.
The Mars Bar’s previous paint job — which featured “After the Mars Bar, Then What?” — provided a glimpse into the rapidly changing area’s not-too-distant future.
Last year a graffiti wall next to the bar’s entrance on First Street proclaimed “The East Village Is Dead” in dripping, blood-red paint, with the image of suited political type and polo-shirt-wearing preppy on either side.
While the First Street wall actually changes once a month through the work of a group of rotating artists, a bartender said not to read too much into the new “Welcome” sign.
“There’s just a guy that on occasion repaints the outside, so he just came up with that by himself,” said Jessica, who declined to give her last name.
Even so, change is not always received well in this part of town.
“I like my favorite dives to stay that way,” Musto said. “For the same reason, I don't believe in Wizard air freshener.”
