Gary dos Santos, Mayor of Strawberry Fields, Dead at 49

Corey Kilgannon/The New York Times Gary dos Santos

Gary dos Santos, 49, a John Lennon devotee and a fixture in Strawberry Fields in Central Park, died Monday night at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan from complications from leukemia, said his companion, Lisa Page.

Mr. dos Santos - known as the Mayor of Strawberry Fields to park regulars and countless tourists who visited the “Imagine” mosaic just inside the park’s West 72nd Street entrance - was diagnosed with advanced stage leukemia several weeks ago.

For the last 20 years, he welcomed visitors to the memorial by arranging flowers and praising Lennon â€" “the Brother” â€" who lived across the street in the Dakota apartment building and whose spirit Mr. dos Santos long professed to keep alive at the memorial.

Mr. dos Santos, in a recent interview, vowed to return to the memorial on Dec. 8 to memorialize Lennon’s death, which occurred on that date in 1980. But even if he were to succumb before then, he said, “I’m not worried because I have the Brother watching over me.”

CityRoom invites readers who have met Mr. dos Santos to offer their memories in the comments below.

Beautiful Fall, Apathetic Boyfriend

Dear Diary,

On a recent afternoon walk through Columbus Circle I turned to my boyfriend, who was in town visiting for the weekend, and asked him, “Isn’t New York in fall wonderful?” It was the most picturesque Saturday I had witnessed since I moved here in May â€" the colors, the crisp air, the absence of summer street smells.

“I guess,” he replied with a shrug. “I mean it’s slightly more tolerable.”

I was shocked. For seven months his plan was to join me when his job in Cleveland comes to a close next year, which was the impetus behind our decision to do long-distance. I had naïvely never imagined that the man I loved would be so apathetic toward the destination I had waited 12 years to call home.

Sure enough, later that night he told me his doctored plan to move to a small village in France next year instead, and a week later we broke up.

I am relieved I don’t have to divide my attention between two loves anymore. New York can stand a lot of things, but I don’t think she cares much for apathy â€" especially when she’s showing off. And I just won’t tolerate hurting her feelings. Bonne chance en France!

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New York Today: Holiday Weather Alert

Caleb Ferguson for The New York Times Prepare for major delays.

Updated 7:27 a.m.

Looking for a way out of dreaded holiday travel plans?

Your excuse may arrive this afternoon from the southeast.

Rain should begin by 3 p.m., possibly starting as sleet, and continue on and off through through the evening.

Then it will turn steady, lots of it, with gusts up to 50 miles an hour and sustained winds of up to 25.

Be careful. The storm has already caused several deaths in the rest of the country.

“The wind is the big story for Wednesday, the travel day,” said Lauren Nash, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

All together, more than three inches of rain are expected by Thanksgiving morning.

Fortunately, most rainfall in our area - more than we’ve had in the last 10 weeks combined, if the forecast holds - will go right into the parched ground.

No river or coastal flooding expected. But there may be some “nuisance” ponding on roads, especially where drains are clogged by leaves.

The high today will be in the mid-40s.

It will be warmer Wednesday - near 60 - but Wednesday night the temperature will plunge below freezing, turning the last sprinkles to snow.

Thanksgiving Day will be clear but blustery, with gusts of 35 miles an hour threatening those parade balloons.

The rest of the weekend should be sunny and nice.

But don’t tell your in-laws that.

Here’s what else you need to know for Tuesday.

COMMUTE

Subways: No delays. Check latest status.

Rails: Scattered delays on N.J. Transit. Check L.I.R.R., Metro-North or New Jersey Transit status.

Roads: Inbound 40-minute delays at G.W.B. upper level, 35 minutes at the Lincoln Tunnel. One-hour delay on Gowanus/B.Q.E. Check traffic map or radio report on the 1s.

Alternate-side parking is in effect today.

COMING UP TODAY

- Elected officials join the City Coalition Against Hunger to release the group’s annual report on the state of hunger in the city and state.

- Food for Thanksgiving: 20,000 pounds of fall produce from City Harvest and 600 pies from the Epicurean Group will be delivered to the Melrose Community Center in the Bronx. 9:30 a.m.

- Camba’s Beyond Hunger Emergency Food Pantry will give out 500 turkeys on Church Avenue in Brooklyn. 10 a.m.

- An illustrated lecture on the design and history of pizza boxes, by the man who holds a world record for the largest collection of them. Mid-Manhattan Public Library. 6:30 p.m.

- The history of ACT UP, the AIDS activist organization, told through archival video and testimonies at the New York Public Library. 7 p.m. [Free]

- It’s “Tasting Tuesday” at the food stalls in Bryant Park’s Winter Village. 4:30 to 6 p.m. [Free]

- For more events, see The New York Times Arts & Entertainment guide.

IN THE NEWS

- Murders of teenagers are down 50 percent since last year. The Police Department credits its anti-gang strategy “Operation Crew Cut.” [CBS]

- Former Mayor David N. Dinkins chided Bill de Blasio for proposing to pay for prekindergarten programs by taxing the rich. [New York Times]

- Police officers have been told that race can be a factor in street stops, but it cannot be the only one. [New York Times]

- The state has lost track of 467 sex offenders. [Newsday]

- The police are investigating another possible “knockout” attack, this one on a 72-year-old Brooklyn woman. [Daily News]

- Mr. de Blasio wants to raise taxes on vacant lots to spur development. [Crain's]

- Governor Cuomo was named of People’s Sexiest Men Alive in the 50-and-over category. [Wall Street Journal]

- The city’s largest solar energy installation will cover 47 acres on Staten Island [Gothamist]

- Scoreboard: Knicks lose sixth straight, to Blazers, 102-91. Lightning strike down Rangers, 5-0. Devils bow to Jets, 3-1.

AND FINALLY…

Today, in 1832, the first streetcar in America made its maiden voyage.

From Prince Street to 14th Street, along the Bowery.

Its inventor, a young Irish immigrant named John Stephenson, traveled the new route with the mayor.

The first streetcar was drawn by horses, but glided on steel rails.

It provided a smoother ride than the horse-drawn omnibuses of the time, which bumped over cobblestones.

By the 1860s, Manhattan had 14 horse-streetcar lines.

Streetcars wouldn’t fall out of fashion for a very long time, but horses would.

By 1917, only one horse-streetcar line operated in the city, and it reportedly collected just 30 cents a day in fares.

Joseph Burgess contributed reporting.

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