A Sad Day For Lower East Side, West Village

I thought it was bad enough to hear that one of my favorite bars in NY, a bar I frequented as a TEENAGER 18 years ago  (old man!), was closing at the end of the month. But three of them!!!
 Today it was announced that Mars Bar, one of the dirtiest, grimiest watering holes in NY, full of punk sensitivity and puke scars, may be closed by the end of next month. If you have never entered said bar, I strongly suggest you do. Like getting a rare disease, you'll tell all your friends how you got through it, feel the pain of it mentally and physically for years, but cherish the memory always like a war wound. I first went to Mars Bar as a teen. No one wants you there, the drinks are strong as fuck, and the bathroom smells like garbage. Why will I miss it? For the time a guy passed out in the corner, his foot-tall mohawk bent against the wall as his girlfriend screamed for him to wake up from his heroin haze. Or the memory of surviving it. Either way, try to head there before they "temporarily" close it for two years. It ain't comin' back, folks.
Max Fish on Ludlow will also be closing within the next few months. I always liked the artsy interior. And cheap drinks. Mostly the drinks. And the fact that all these ritsy, bullshit poser bars that have moved into the area, jacking up the rent, would not have been able to if Max Fish didn't do it first and best, outliving Ludlow Bar, Z Bar and Korova Milk Bar. Wow, I really sound old now. Damn whippersnappers! Sigh...
This last one bothered me the most, because when I heard The Stoned Crow was closing, I wasn't surprised. I started frequenting the Crow in 1993. I was drawn to the pristine pool table,  the people and the atmosphere. The owner, Betty, sat by the table to make sure that the games were "properly" played, and to protect the table from yuppie beer-splashing. As the years went on, I played on their pool teams, even briefly worked here and there, and made life-long friends. All things change. For recent years, loyal patrons were constantly reminded of the bar's significant debts as these valiant drinkers wondered aloud why they no longer got buybacks. In fact, I once received a $150 bill with shots I never ordered, and was told by Betty that I had to suck it up and deal, and that I was drunk. I disagreed, having been on antibiotics for the past week, and was dead sober. Oh yeah, and I was forced to tip as well or be expelled. I relocated my pool team that season to a different bar, and returned to the Crow only for special events. My wife loathes it there because of the treatment we receive when we have returned. Keeping in contact with other regulars, I realized these weren't isolated incidents, as they've mostly been pushed away. 
Though I like to hold on to the past (just ask my wife) , in this instance, it's past the time for the Crow to go, sunk by poor ownership and hiring mistakes. I will miss Donnie's quick wit and the beautiful bar, but I've missed the Crow of the past for some time now.
If the Library Bar closes, I won't ever go below 14th St. again. I mean it. Can't one smelly dive bar survive?!?
Like the Abbey?!? Hehehe...