Hank Penza.
Hank Penza, owner of the Mars Bar, Hank’s Crystal Palace and other Bowery haunts since the 1950s, died on Oct. 29. He was believed to be 81 or 82.
“He was the most legit bad a– New Yorker ever,” said artist Anthony Zitto. “His stories were the greatest. Whatever may have remained of the New York he knew left this earthly plane with him. Always the greatest character New York has ever known — there will never be another.”
“He was one of the last real old-school warriors left in the ’hood,” said L.E.S. documentarian Clayton Patterson.
Other bars that Penza reportedly owned at one time included Willie’s, the Penthouse and Bowery East. Mars bar, at Second Ave. and E. First St., opened in the early 1980s and lasted until July 2011, when it was forced to close to make way for a redevelopment project.
Penza’s father immigrated to New York from Italy. When he was younger, Penza made a living using his muscle to “clean up” bars of undesirables, before eventually moving into owning bars himself.
