Artist Marco recently completed a new “Gateway to the Lower East Side” mural on the side of a building overlooking E. Houston St. at Orchard St. The 100-ft.-by-30-ft. artwork was funded by the Lower East Side Business Improvement District and local realtor Sion Misrahi. Marco, vice president of the BID’s board of directors, painted it for free, because, he said, he loves the neighborhood and he hopes it will help attract shoppers. Marco opened his gallery/store on Orchard St. in 1992. “I like to say I pioneered the block from the hipster point of view,” he said. “I have mixed feelings about what’s going on down here, all the yuppies, bars and now hotels coming in,” he added. “But I’ll take their money. I need people coming in here who can drop G’s for art — as opposed to the old days when people didn’t even have money for a T-shirt.”
