Howard Mendes was born in Brooklyn, lived in Hell’s Kitchen and passed away on his 85th birthday in July 2020. Howard had a distinguished career in commercial real estate investment and community lending. He was committed to community based planning and his involvement has long been felt throughout Manhattan. Howard served as officer and director on community boards such as New York City Citizens Housing and Planning Council, New York City Settlement Housing Fund, Midtown Manhattan New York City Community Board 5, the Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association and the 14th Street Union Square Business Improvement District. He was an avid traveler collecting beautiful and eclectic works of art from around the world. Other works from his collection are Jackson Pollock lot 25, Picasso lots 109, 111-112, Louise Nevelson 184 and Josef Albers lot 201.