Bryan Thomas for The New York Times Letitia James, center, celebrated her victory in the runoff for public advocate with John C. Liu, the city comptroller.With the Democratic runoff on Tuesday, New York City woke today to a presumed new public advocate, Letitia James.
Does that end all the drama this election season?
After all, Bill de Blasio is a heavy favorite for mayor, polls show, and Scott M. Stringer has little competition for the comptroller’s job.
Still, some tension remains for November â€" in a handful of City Council races.
On the Upper East Side, the Democrat, Ben Kallos, who upset Assemblyman Micah Kellner in the Democratic primary after Mr. Kellner faced harassment accusations, faces a Republican, David Garland, a management consultant.
In Bayside, Queens, Paul Vallone - the son of a former Council speaker, and the brother of a councilman â€" seeks to further spice up the political gossip around the Vallone family table.
His Republican rival is Dennis Saffran, a prosecutor.
And in a traditional swing district in central Queens, the incumbent Democrat, Liz Crowley, is going up against Craig Caruana, a former researcher for Fox News.
Here’s what else you need to know for Wednesday.
WEATHER
It’s crazily sunny, with a high of 85, so feel free to pretend you live in perpetual summer.
COMMUTE
Subways: Click for latest status.
Rails: Limited service continues on Metro-North’s New Haven line. See advisory, schedule and map of temporary park-and-ride lots at other stations.
Roads: Click for traffic map or radio report on the 1s.
Alternate-side parking is in effect all week.
COMING UP TODAY
- Joseph J. Lhota takes part in a forum sponsored by the Brooklyn Real Estate Board. Mr. de Blasio visits after-school programs in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
- Tomorrow is the last day to register for the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund.
- Mayor Bloomberg cuts the ribbon on a new performing arts space in Brooklyn.
- The New Yorker critic Adam Gopnik hosts the first of a series of conversations on the modernist art movement prior to World War I. [$30, 6 p.m.]
- The Birth of Hip Hop Festival kicks off at 6 p.m. with events at venues across the South Bronx. [Free]
- We reconciled Einstein’s theories with quantum physics in a recent lunch hour. But if you want to try your hand, Brian Greene, a Columbia professor, is discussing “String Theory and the Mathematics of Hyperspace†at the Museum of Math at 6:30 p.m. [Free, registration required]
- Back on earth, the Bronx County Historical Society hosts a lecture at 6:30 p.m. on the history of the Bronx Latino community. [Free]
- For more events, see The New York Times Arts & Entertainment guide.
IN THE NEWS
- The first day of New York’s new health insurance exchange was marked by delays because too many people tried to access its Web site. [The New York Times]
- Here’s a guide to help New Yorkers navigate the Affordable Care Act. [New York Magazine]
- Two-thirds of New Yorkers say they want better bike and pedestrian infrastructure. [Atlantic Cities]
- A “large, lean dark grey cat†is bullying other cats, and humans, in Brooklyn. [South Slope News]
- It costs almost $170,000 per year to house each of New York City’s inmates. [The Associated Press]
- The New York City Opera officially announced that it will close. [The New York Times]
- Up in the Bronx, the Yankees reportedly will offer manager Joe Girardi a new contract on Wednesday. [ESPN New York]
- The Meatpacking District staple Pastis plans to close, leaving Sex and the City tours down one stop. [Crain's New York]
AND FINALLY…
This week in 1893, the right to a speedy trial was brought to an unusual extreme in Brooklyn.
There, a Justice Walsh disposed of 116 public-drunkenness cases in two minutes, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported.
“Ask the prisoners if there are any who plead not guilty to the charge of intoxication,†the judge instructed a court officer.
The court officer bellowed the question into the holding cell.
No reply came.
“They all plead guilty,†the officer said.
All 116 men were fined a dollar.
Joseph Burgess and David W. Chen contributed reporting.
New York Today is a morning roundup that stays live from 6 a.m. till about noon.
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