NEW YORK – First Avenue and Houston Street is finally notable for something other than endless construction and the long tease of building the (mythical?) Second Avenue Subway. First came Centre-Fuge Public Art Project, and on the first warm weekend in what feels like years, I visited First Park, the skinny green strip on Houston between First and Second avenues, which joined the art party last year.

First up is the black and white Ronald McDonald as Michael Jackson mural. Jackson looks pissed; his iconic uniform, with its block M against a circle, hanging limply off of his tired body. I hope the afterlife offers better paying positions.

At first I thought the piece was part of the Wack Donalds project by French artist Mr. One Teas, featuring Ronald McDonald in sometimes hilarious, sometimes compromising positions. This piece however, is by Ivan Orama, the artist behind one of my favorite pieces at the 21st Precinct Show last summer, a sassy, pig-tailed girl, mouth wide open, the better to scream “New York City will eat you if you let it” with.

Next to the King of Pop is Ms Me’s creation: a woman in a bank robber ski mask with Mickey Mouse ears, because the best bank robbers have a touch of whimsy. Her left breast has also turned into what looks like a baby unicorn whose horn has just begun to emerge. Part robber, part mythical creature, I couldn’t stop staring. The animal was cute, but I’m pretty sure the cuteness is a distraction, the better to steal my wallet.

On the way out, I spotted an unexpectedly poignant piece, a contrast to the playful surrealism of the one before: a mural of two boys, lying down with their feet up against the wall, eyes wide but weary. The boy in the blue baseball cap turns to his friend, asking, “You sure it’s still worth it?”

Too real, I thought. Can I go back to the mouse/robber? Has this mural been reading my mind? Creepiness aside, I hope the answer to the boy’s question is “yes.”