Left, Michael Appleton for The New York Times; right, Damon Winter/The New York Times No more split screen: Scott M. Stringer, left, and Eliot Spitzer face off for the first time today in the comptroller’s race.Friday offers fans of political theater a double feature of candidate debates.
The bigger draw may be the smaller race â€" comptroller, where Scott M. Stringer, the mild-mannered Manhattan borough president, was a shoo-in until former Gov. Eliot Spitzer burst back on the scene. It will be live-streamed at 10 a.m. on the sites of WABC-TV and The Daily News.
At 1 p.m., the Republican candidates for mayor â€" John A. Catsimatidis, Joseph J. Lhota and George T. McDonald â€" will square off (streamed on the same sites).
We asked our colleague Michael M. Grynbaum, who covers city politics, to handicap the matchups.
“This will be the first face-to-face encounter between Spitzer and Stringer, and we are expecting some fireworks,†Mr. Grynbaum told us.
Mr. Stringer “will not hesitate to go negative†by bringing up Mr. Spitzer’s record, including his prostitution scandal.
Mr. Spitzer, for his part, “will get to show off his rhetorical chops†honed over years as a prosecutor. “The cerebral Spitzer may have an edge in this extemporaneous setting,†Mr. Grynbaum said.
The latest New York Times/Siena College poll finds Mr. Spitzer leading Mr. Stringer, 44 percent to 35 percent.
Regarding the Republican mayoral candidates, “a televised debate could be influential in determining the outcome,†given the small number of Republicans in the city, Mr. Grynbaum said.
Here’s what else you need to know for Friday and the soggy-turning-sunny weekend.
WEATHER
More rain â€" another half inch or so is forecast â€" with a high of 81. (Thursday’s storms included a microburst that tore through Rockland County, toppling trees and tearing roofs off buildings.) Umbrella weather, for sure.
Skies should clear Saturday, though, and stay that way through through Monday. Weekend highs in the mid-80s.
TRANSIT & TRAFFIC
- Mass Transit: Click for latest M.T.A. status.
- Roads: Click for traffic map or radio report on the 1s.
Alternate-side parking is suspended for Id al-Fitr. Meters remain in effect.
COMING UP TODAY
- Mayoral candidates tour small businesses: Bill de Blasio (an Indian restaurant on Queens Boulevard), Anthony D. Weiner (a barber shop in East New York), and John C. Liu (a diner in Rockaway Beach).
- The Greek prime minister, Antonis Samaras, visits the mayor at City Hall.
- More than 100 kayakers and canoers who have paddled down the Hudson from Albany to urge the government to honor treaties with the Indians lands at West 57th Street and heads to the United Nations.
- More paddlers: a paddle-boarding marathon around Manhattan to raise money for autism and Hurricane Sandy relief.
- Big sand-castle competition on Rockaway Beach at 2 p.m. [Free]
- The ubiquitous indie-rock provocateur Amanda Palmer and her Grand Theft Orchestra play the Damrosch Park bandshell. 7:30 p.m. [Free]
- “It wasn’t me,†the Kingston-born, Flatbush-raised reggae icon Shaggy will remind us when he performs in Prospect Park. 7:30 p.m. [Free]
- The New York International Fringe Festival, featuring a dizzying 1,100 theatrical performances on 20 stages across the city, gets under way. The Times has a curated guide. [Free]
IN THE NEWS
- A grand jury declined to indict the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed teenager, Ramarley Graham, in his bathroom in the Bronx. Federal prosecutors said they would review the case. [New York Times]
- Christine C. Quinn pulls ahead of the pack in the polls as Mr. Weiner fades. [New York Times]
- One of the winning Powerball tickets is held by a group of 16 county workers in New Jersey. [Asbury Park Press]
- Batten down the hatches for another above-normal hurricane season. [NOAA]
- An impressively stout seal clambered ashore in East River Park in Williamsburg and was caught on video. [Gothamist]
- Mets finish sweep of Rockies, 2-1.
Michael M. Grynbaum, Nicole Higgins DeSmet and E.C. Gogolak contributed reporting.
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