Kirsten Luce for The New York Times High schoolers impersonated the candidates at a pre-Halloween debate.We wanted to cover Halloween today. And mayoral politics.
Could we do both?
Yes. We just had to travel to Queens.
There, at Townsend Harris High School, seniors were costumed as politicians on Wednesday to enact a mayoral debate.
Joseph J. Lhota, played by a lanky Samuel Schrader, donned a striped red and blue tie.
Bill de Blasio, otherwise known as Jin Won Seo, was more relaxed.
He wore his older brother’s suit and black tennis shoes.
It was clear that both teenagers had done their homework.
“Income inequality should exist in any society that’s not Communist,†Samuel thundered in his role as Mr. Lhota.
Jin, playing Mr. de Blasio, responded, “I’m taxing those people who can still afford to eat caviar and shark fin for breakfast.â€
The two debated the stop and frisk practice, the soda tax and other issues.
Afterwards, two girls in the stairwell declared faux Lhota the winner.
“The only voters de Blasio is going to get are the hardcore Democrats,†said Irene Joseph. “Or the undecided freshman.â€
Then they admitted their bias: they were playing Mr. Lhota’s wife and his press secretary.
Here’s what else you need to know for Thursday.
WEATHER
Trick-or-treating tip: go early unless your costume’s waterproof.
Chance of rain is 30 percent at sunset, rising to 50 percent by 8 p.m.
If you plan to be out after midnight, staple an umbrella to your gorilla suit.
Quite warm in any case, with a high of 66.
COMMUTE
Subways: Click for latest status.
Rails: Click for L.I.R.R., Metro-North or New Jersey Transit status.
Roads: Click for traffic map or radio report on the 1s.
Alternate-side parking is in effect today but suspended tomorrow.
COMING UP TODAY
- The real Mr. de Blasio greets voters on a Bronx corner and marches in the Park Slope Halloween parade.
- Mr. Lhota is on “Good Day New York†at 7:15 a.m., greets trick-or-treaters on Staten Island and City Island in the Bronx, and hits two kosher supermarkets in Brooklyn.
- There are tons of Halloween festivities, but the biggest is the resurgent Greenwich Village parade, which steps off at 7 p.m. at Avenue of the Americas and Spring Street.
- Senior Halloween parade: at the Sirovich Center on East 12th Street. Indoors. 1:30 p.m. [Free]
- Gowanus dog parade: muster outside the Yuppie Puppy/Green Pup store at 544 Union Street in Brooklyn at 4:30 p.m. [Free, with prizes]
- Last day for people whose homes were damaged by Hurricane Sandy to register for the city aid program NYC Build it Back.
- A Halloween-themed light show on the Empire State Building. 8:30 p.m. [Free. Just look up.]
- For more events, see The New York Times Arts & Entertainment guide.
IN THE NEWS
- The City Council raised the age for buying cigarettes to 21. [New York Times]
- At their final debate, the real Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Lhota mocked each other’s qualifications. [New York Times]
- Mr. Lhota is chipping away at Mr. de Blasio â€" but still trails by 39 points, a poll shows. [Politicker]
- Someone took a photo of a boy on a subway who resembles Avonte Oquendo, the missing autistic 14-year-old. [Daily News]
- In other subway photograph news: it’s the New York City Subway Operators’ Photography Club. [Atlantic Cities]
- Scoreboard: Knicks shoot down Bucks in Garden debut, 90-83. Nets fall to Cavs, 98-94.
Joseph Burgess contributed reporting.
New York Today is a morning roundup that stays live from 6 a.m. till about noon.
What would you like to see here to start your day? Post a comment, email us at nytoday@nytimes.com or reach us via Twitter using #NYToday.
Find us on weekdays at nytoday.com.
