New York Today: Empty Chair

Left, Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times; right, Michael Appleton for The New York Times Where’s Bill? Joseph J. Lhota, left, and Adolfo Carrion will face off in a mayoral debate being boycotted by the frontrunner, Bill de Blasio.

What if they had a mayoral debate and the man most likely to become mayor didn’t show?

You can find out tonight when Joseph J. Lhota and Adolfo Carrion face off at 7 p.m. on NY1 â€" without Bill de Blasio.

Mr. Lhota, the Republican, and Mr. Carrion, from the Independence Party, will probably spend a fair bit of time addressing the absence of Mr. de Blasio, the Democrat.

Mr. de Blasio is following a classic front-runner’s strategy. But his spokesman, Dan Levitan, noted that Mr. de Blasio had agreed to three other debates, “more than any campaign in a generation.”

Two debates are the minimum required by city law.

“It’s a shame that he won’t debate,” said Mr. Lhota’s spokeswoman, Jessica Proud. “And it’s not surprising given that polls have found that New Yorkers are against him on the important issues of this election: crime, education reform, charter schools and jobs.”

Mr. Lhota will have to wait until a debate next Tuesday to look Mr. de Blasio in the eye.

Mr. de Blasio could still change his mind about tonight.

His public schedule shows nothing after 9:40 a.m.

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

WEATHER

Mostly cloudy, with a high of 67. Not as nice as yesterday, but better than tomorrow, so enjoy the present.

COMMUTE

Subways: O.K. so far. Click for latest status.

Rails: O.K. so far. Click for L.I.R.R. and Metro-North status.

Roads: No major delays. Click for traffic map or radio report on the 1s.

Alternate-side parking is in effect all week.

COMING UP TODAY

- You can still register to vote in the November election. Friday is the deadline. Click to register online. Or register in person at the places on this list.

- Mr. Lhota goes on the John Gambling show at 7:40 a.m., addresses a Christian leadership conference and visits a senior center in Corona, Queens.

- Mr. de Blasio’s public appearances are confined to the radio dial â€" WWRL-AM (1600) at 7:30 a.m. and on a Spanish-language show on WPAT-AM (930) at 9:40 a.m.

- A hearing on Con Edison’s proposed rate increases at state offices at 90 Church Street downtown. 5:30 p.m.

- Eat fancy pizza for $1 a slice while raising money for the Food Bank for New York City. Church of St. Anthony in the Village. 6 p.m., till the pizza runs out.

- The annual 10-day festival of French intellectual and cultural exchange, Walls and Bridges, opens with a panel on the ethics of famine and food distribution at N.Y.U. 6:30 p.m. [Free]

- All aboard for aging boy-band hijinks: tickets for next June’s New Kids on the Block Cruise to Bermuda go on sale at 10 a.m.

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

IN THE NEWS

An off-duty police detective is the sixth motorcyclist arrested in last week’s attack on an S.U.V. driver uptown. [New York Times]

Joseph Burgess contributed reporting.

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