Lucy's was closed last night. No "Be back in a week" sign. Please someone tell me this isn't the end (cc: @evgrieve)
— Christopher Robbins (@ChristRobbins) December 19, 2013
As the East Village cleaned up around it, Lucy’s remained the prototypical dive bar: a comfortable cave bathed in low red light, with a dingy dropped ceiling and worn linoleum on the floor. One arcade game, one jukebox, two pool tables, two small drinking tables, a dozen stools and a heavy oak bar. All are steeped in the character of Ms. Mickevicius: straightforward and practical. No frills, no nonsense, no whining.
“Many people hear about me and they come in and say, ‘Lucy, don’t change anything; we like it like this,’ ” she said. “Plus, change costs a lot of money.”
As for the future of Lucy’s, the hard work keeps her from thinking about the longterm. The song “Death is Not the End,” a Bob Dylan cover by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, eerily drones in the background. “I don’t have a plan exactly, I have no time to think about this!” She laughs. “I think some day is coming and I must think of what to do, but for now, I just work like regular, working, caring. Yeah, that’s enough, especially for me, just one woman.”
