EAST VILLAGE, NY — A mural of the twin towers painted just days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks got a second life on Sunday, 16 years after it first came to the East Village.

The mural, located on the outside of a building at Avenue A and Ninth Street, was believed to have been painted in the days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Although its exact date of origin remains unclear, locals believe the the work went up just days after the most devastating terror attack on American soil. In the years after the attacks, the mural became an impromptu memorial for the neighborhood, where locals would place votive candles every September 11th. Since then, however, much of the mural has been defaced with graffiti and stickers. As the image became increasingly weathered, and obscured, the local artist and musician David Ouimet thought it looked like a promising spot for his next canvas.

Ouimet, who has lived in the East Village and the Lower East Side for the past 25 years, had recently picked up street art, painting numerous murals throughout the neighborhood. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.) Here's a photo of the mural last year, as captured by neighborhood blog EV Grieve:

Ninth Street at Avenue A #eastvillage #911 #9/11 #worldtradecenter #streetart #mural

A post shared by EV Grieve (@evgrieve) on Sep 11, 2016 at 6:49am PDT

A post shared by EV Grieve (@evgrieve) on Sep 11, 2016 at 6:49am PDT Watch: 9/11 Victims Honored In NYC The street canvas on Ninth Street, which is home to the newly-opened ice cream shop Gelarto, is located just across the road from Tompkins Square Park in the heart of the East Village. Ouimet, whose work as an artist has spanned films, music, children's book illustrations and, now, street art, decided to approached the Gelarto's owners about updating the mural from its state of disrepair.

Gelarto's owners suggested that Ouimet build off of the original mural, which has been credited to local businessman Jesse Fishler, Ouimet said. Patch was not able to locate Fishler to comment for this article. Scott Richey, Gelarto's manager, told Patch that the business wanted to "preserve it as well as add to it."

Richey have also speculated that prolific NYC street artist Chico was responsible for the mural. Chico painted a 9/11 memorial mural nearby at Avenue A and 14th Street, which has since been partially covered with advertisements.



Ouimet decided to preserve a window of the 2001-era painting, and build off of it with his own work. He spent about a week cleaning up the wall, donning a Hazmat suit to clean the bricks of 16 years of detritus. Ouimet said he hadn't planned on doing 9/11-related artwork, but when Gelarto suggested he build off what was already on Ninth Street, the idea came quickly.