New York Today: Another Chance to Debate

Pool photo by James Keivom A televised mayoral debate will be held Wednesday night on NY1. Earlier this month a televised debate was held at WABC-TV studios. From left to right,  Christine C. Quinn, Anthony D. Weiner, William C. Thompson Jr., John C. Liu, and Bill de Blasio.

Tonight at 7 on NY1, you can watch the first televised mayoral debate for the Democratic nomination that features all seven main candidates.

Among the panelists asking questions will be David W. Chen, the City Hall bureau chief for The New York Times.

With the Sept. 10 primary nearing, what happens tonight could be pivotal, Mr. Chen told us.

“The stakes are higher because they know that more people are going to be watching,” he said. “So late in the campaign, any gaff can be magnified through 1,000 tweets.”

Recent polls have tightened, with some showing Bill de Blasio pulling ahead of Christine C. Quinn.

But candidates who try to stand out with sharp attacks run the risk of alienating some voters, Mr. Chen said.

“Support is soft and can easily change,” he said.”

Here’s what you need to know for your Wednesday.

WEATHER
Our first day of hot weather in a while. It will be nearly 90 degrees. This is how N.Y.C. August is supposed to feel. We can cope.

TRANSIT & TRAFFIC

- Mass Transit: Subways are O.K. Click for latest M.T.A. status.

- Roads: Click for traffic map or radio report on the 1s.

Alternate-side parking is in effect.

COMING UP TODAY

- Find love at a free four-day Qualifying Tournament for the United States Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at 10 a.m. [Free]

- Get your Delorean tuned up for “Back to the Future,” at the South Street Seaport. [Free]

- Or grab your bow and arrow â€" actually, don’t under any circumstances â€" for “The Hunger Games” in Hudson River Park at sundown. [Free]

- There’s a free screening of “Beacons in Jazz” as part of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival at 6:30 p.m. in the New School Jazz Performance Space, 55 W. 13th St., 5th Floor. [Free]

- It’s the last summer community dance party (there was a first?) on the High Line at 7 p.m. ¡Arriba! [Free]

- Learn about the role New York played in the Revolutionary War (an important one, obviously) in the Battle of Brooklyn history tour led by an urban park ranger at 6:30 p.m. in Brooklyn Bridge Park. [Free]

IN THE NEWS

- A growing number of New York non-profits are seeking exemptions for a rule requiring they reveal donors, saying it would risk their supporters’ safety. [New York Times]

- Your neighbor’s phone conversation on the subway will be brought to you by Verizon. [BusinessWire]

- An arsonist suspected of setting fires around Queens â€" including to a former elected official’s car â€" has been arrested. [CBS]

- Willets Point residents were offered large subsidies if they vacate the blighted area by a fall deadline to make way for a proposed mall near Citi Field. [CBS]

- A huge fire enveloped a Jersey City recycling plant. No one was injured. [ABC]

- A champion cliff diver dove 75 feet into the Hudson River from a helicopter. [Time Out]

- West Nile Virus has been found in mosquitoes this year in all five boroughs of New York City. The Department of Health has suggestions on how to protect yourself. [NYC.gov]

- Bill de Blasio appeared in court over an earlier civil disobedience charge stemming from an arrest at a protest against hospital closures. [Huffington Post]

- The New York Public Library is officially hip: there are now photo booths. [Gothamist]

- It’s obviously a lie by some fool who doesn’t know how exceptionally perfect we are, but New York was voted rudest and most arrogant state. [New York Magazine]

AND FINALLY…
Next week is the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, the civil rights rally led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Tonight at 6:30, outside the State Office building on 125th Street in Harlem, a veritable who’s who of the city’s minority leaders will come together to commemorate that moment and reiterate its calls, albeit retooled for modern times.

American inequality today manifests itself economically, said Eric T. Schneiderman, the New York Attorney General, who will be addressing the crowd.

“Dr. King called on people to decry the twin evils of discrimination and economic deprivation,” Mr. Schneiderman said in an interview. “Dr. King was about much more than ending segregation.”

Nicole Higgins DeSmet contributed reporting.

We’re testing New York Today, a morning roundup that stays live from 6 a.m. till about noon.

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