Good morning on this graying Monday.
It’s hard to imagine a vacant storefront in Park Slope.
Especially one that looked empty for four decades.
Except it wasn’t — not really.
That’s what Annie Correal, a Times reporter (and former New York Today columnist), discovered when she investigated this neighborhood mystery.
She told us that it had belonged to Leo J. Bates, an abstract painter.
Mr. Bates, once a presence in the growing SoHo art scene, had seemingly disappeared in the late 1970s.
He stopped exhibiting or selling work, retreating to his Seventh Avenue storefront.
In obscurity, he created vibrant paintings featuring complex shapes in varying colors and sizes.
When he died two years ago, he left behind hundreds of artworks.
“No one has looked through them all,” Ms. Correal said. “Not even his widow.”
“They’re rolled up, unseen.”
But what was there before?
Early in the last century, it was a butcher, Semke’s Meat Market, with “Choice Meats” and “Seafood” in silver lettering on the glass.
Then it was a shop run by two tailors, one of whom left his name on the glass: “H. Nasavarian.”
The new tenants, who will open the restaurant Hugo and Sons next month, will restore those signs.
But you’ll have to imagine Mr. Bates, because he left no trace in the storefront where he did his work.
Here’s what else is happening:
WEATHER
The weather is keeping us guessing: a chance of showers today, with wind, and a high of 61.
Tomorrow will be sunny. Consistency is overrated.
Today’s pollen forecast: moderate.
IN THE NEWS
• The robbery suspect fatally shot by the police in the East Village had mental illness and a troubled past. [New York Times]
• Residents are protesting the arrival of a juvenile detention center on a quiet block in Queens. [New York Times]
• The police have arrested a suspect in the death of a 70-year-old Queens woman, who was fatally shot when she opened her front door. [New York Times]
• Arthur Schneier, a prominent New York rabbi, has been made a knight of the Catholic Church. [CBS New York]
• A Brooklyn man was arrested with 80 pounds of marijuana candy after he crashed his car on a New Jersey highway. [Daily News]
• Scoreboard: Yankees amaze Mets, 6-4.
• For a global look at what’s happening, see Your Monday Briefing.
COMING UP TODAY
• Mayor de Blasio swears in 28 new judges today, after returning from a brief trip to Connecticut.
• The founders of Big Gay Ice Cream talk about their new cookbook and hand out frozen treats at the Strand bookstore in Union Square. 7 p.m. [$35, includes a cookbook and ice cream, registration required]
• Imagine the future of media at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University in NoHo. 7 p.m. [Free]
• Learn about W.E.B. DuBois and the legacy of Brown v. Board of Education at the Brooklyn Public Library’s central branch. 7 p.m. [Free]
• Lydia Davis reads from her new short story collection with Lynne Tillman at McNally Jackson bookstore in SoHo. 7 p.m. [Free]
• Volunteer to count New York City’s trees with the Parks Department. [Free]
• Nets host Hawks in game 4 of their playoff series, 7 p.m. (NBAtv) Yankees host Rays, 7:05 p.m. (YES). Mets at Marlins, 7:10 p.m. (SNY). Islanders at Capitals, 7:30 p.m. in game 7 of their playoff series. (MSG+).
• For more events, see The New York Times Arts & Entertainment guide.
COMMUTE
• Railroads: L.I.R.R., Metro-North, N.J. Transit, Amtrak
• Roads: Check traffic map or radio report on the 1s or the 8s.
• Alternate-side parking: in effect until May 14.
• Ferries: Staten Island Ferry, New York Waterway, East River Ferry
• Airports: La Guardia, J.F.K., Newark
AND FINALLY …
Today is the birthday of Ulysses S. Grant, our 18th president, born in Ohio in 1822.
In 1885, Grant died in poverty in Wilton, N.Y.
About 1.5 million people lined the streets to pay their respects at his funeral.
Twelve years later, he was laid to rest in his tomb, in Riverside Park.
As all of this suggests, Grant was beloved — partly because he was the victorious general in the Civil War.
But people also loved his memoir, published by Mark Twain and considered a great work of American literature.
One of the more well-known passages in his book is the description of Robert E. Lee’s surrender at the Appomattox Court House.
Grant wrote, “I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause (slavery) was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse.”
Kenneth Rosen contributed reporting.
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