New York Today: Unwanted Vacation

Robert Stolarik for The New York Times Furloughed federal workers are restless.

Picture this: You’re suddenly given two weeks off from work, maybe more.

The catch: You won’t get paid for it right away, and it’s unclear if you ever will.

This is life for about 50,000 federal employees in New York City.

We asked some at a demonstration Monday in Midtown how they’re spending their unscheduled October vacations.

“Saturday was the first time I stuck to my grocery list,” said Beverly Bratton, an I.R.S. employment-tax specialist.

On the plus side, “I got to visit my sister in Brooklyn for her birthday.”

Shawnee Swinton, a civil rights investigator for Health and Human Services, is doing free legal work for people with debt, divorces and landlord problems.

Renee Toback, a labor economist for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, is putting away summer clothes and bringing in vegetables at her house in Yonkers. (She also finished “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”)

“I’ve got to get this stuff done,” she said. “When I go back to work, I’m going to have to work evenings and weekends.”

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

WEATHER

Clouds return. High around 69. Might rain, but not till late at night.

COMMUTE

Subways: Fine so far. Click for latest status.

Rails: Fine so far. 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 suspended through tomorrow for Id al-Adha. Meters remain in effect.

COMING UP TODAY

- On the campaign trail: Joseph J. Lhota is on “Good Day New York” at 7:10 a.m., addresses the Staten Island chamber of commerce, meets with Hasidic leaders and visits a soup kitchen.

- Bill de Blasio attends a fast-food workers’ rally in Manhattan and a Muslims for de Blasio rally in Brooklyn.

- The mayor unveils a golf course at Ferry Point Park in the Bronx and announces the completion of the Manhattan portion of Water Tunnel No. 3.

- New Jersey voters will decide whether Cory A. Booker or Steve Lonegan will replace the late Senator Frank R. Lautenberg.

- Marching bands parade across the Lower East Side as the Honk NYC fest gets rowdy. 6:30 p.m. [Free, location to be disclosed later today]

- Sing songs about subways (and other things) to a live karaoke band at the Transit Museum in Brooklyn, where an exhibit of subway-themed album covers is up. 6 to 9 p.m. [$10]

- Movies about sloths, rhinos, baboons and elephants at the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival near Lincoln Center. 6 and 8:30 p.m. [$20]

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

IN THE NEWS

- Mr. de Blasio ditched the traditional frontrunner’s playbook and attacked Mr. Lhota relentlessly in their first televised debate. [New York Times]

- Casino opponents took a sledgehammer to a slot machine outside the Capitol in Albany. [New York Times]

- The manager of a library on Staten Island didn’t read a book until she was 10. [New York Times]

- Scoreboard: Islanders lose to Sabres, 4-3.

Sandra E. Garcia contributed reporting.

New York Today is a morning roundup that stays live from 6 a.m. till about noon.

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