Chang W. Lee/The New York Times You may have the day off, but the meter police do not.Good morning on this Black Friday. We hope that your turkey (or Tofurkey) is digesting well on what is expected to be a mostly sunny day.
Here’s a hot money-saving tip as you do your shopping:
Remember the meter.
The Black Friday parking ticket is a longstanding - and highly aggravating â€" seasonal tradition.
“It looks like a holiday, smells like a holiday, but it’s not a holiday according to New York City parking rules,†said Samuel I. Schwartz, the former traffic commissioner known as Gridlock Sam.
Alternate-side regulations remain in effect, too.
Some years, Black Friday is the most-ticketed day of the year.
Mr. Schwartz recalled one with 45,000 tickets, compared to the daily average of 25,000.
“Every traffic agent had their pencils sharpened,†he said. “We were an army going out there and bringing back our prey.â€
Last year, Councilman David G. Greenfield, a Brooklyn Democrat, introduced a bill to make Black Friday a day of rest for parking enforcement.
“You’re in a line for an hour to get a discount on a television, and you come outside and there’s a $115 ticket on your car,†Mr. Greenfield told us. “That’s not a very fun way to spend to your Thanksgiving.â€
His bill went nowhere.
Here’s what else you need to know for Friday and the weekend.
WEATHER
Not black. Clouds part to let the sun shine in, but it will be chilly again, with a high of 41.
Tonight will be cold and clear, revealing the moon â€" a waning crescent.
The weekend looks muddled. Starting bright, it may turn cloudy, with rain possible on Saturday night and Sunday.
COMMUTE
Subways: No delays. Check latest status.
Rails: Running smoothly. Check L.I.R.R., Metro-North or New Jersey Transit status.
Roads: No major problems. Check traffic map or radio report on the 1s.
As noted above, alternate-side parking is very much in effect.
COMING UP TODAY
- Walk it off with the After Thanksgiving Hike on Staten Island. 10 a.m. to noon. [Free, registration required]
- Behold the world’s largest gingerbread exhibit, with 164 structures, at the New York Hall of Science in Queens. [$11]
- Peer into the Neapolitan Nativity Scene, with more than 200 18th-century figures, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. [$25 suggested admission]
- Kids can skate in their socks at The Grinch’s Holiday Workshop at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. [$11]
- Make holiday puppets at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, which will also be screening a tribute to the Muppet Rowlf the Dog. Â Through Sunday: 1 p.m. film screening, 1:15 and 2:30 p.m. puppet workshop. [$12, plus a materials fee]
- The South Street Seaport opens its rink, and lights its tree at 6 p.m. [The tree is free; the rink is $10 and free for kids]
- The New York African Diaspora International Film Festival kicks off with “Chasing Shakespeare,†starring Danny Glover. 7 p.m. at Symphony Space. [$25, buy tickets here]
- For more events, see The New York Times Arts & Entertainment guide.
THE WEEKEND
Saturday
- WOTT: That stands for Walk Off The Turkey, a 12-mile walk along the Hudson Shoreline. 10 a.m. [Free, bring lunch]
- A walking tour of Mark Twain-related spots in Lower Manhattan on what would be the writer’s 178th birthday. 10 a.m. [$20]
- Local authors become booksellers in Brooklyn on Small Business Saturday, part of a national effort to save independent bookstores.
- The Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg move into a new winter digs in Williamsburg.
- Designer clothes and accessories made in the five boroughs go on sale in â€" you guessed it - Brooklyn. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. [Free]
- Meet more makers, these from Staten Island, at the Juried Holiday Craft Fair. 11 to 5 p.m. [Free]
Sunday
- The Hanukkah Walking Tour starts on the Lower East Side at 10:45 a.m. You finish with doughnuts, a tradition for the holiday. [$20 in advance; $22 on the street]
- For a very quiet Sunday, head to the Brooklyn Public Library: the 1927 silent film, “Kid Brother,†a male Cinderella tale, screens at 1 p.m. With live piano. [Free]
- Meet the Dutch inventor of the Water Bench, an urban bench that collects rainwater, and learn more about rainwater harvesting, at the Guggenheim Museum. 6:30 p.m. [$7, free for students who RSVP]
- Last chance to see works inspired by Grand Central Terminal at the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn. [$7]
Weekend Travel Hassles: Check subway disruptions or list of street closings.
AND FINALLY…
Wherever people were working on Thanksgiving night, they often had one thing in common: They were not eating turkey.
A police detective: penne alla vodka and chicken parmesan, ordered in.
A worker at Grand Central Terminal customer service: peanut butter and jelly for lunch. Chinese leftovers for dinner.
He said he had not had a Thanksgiving meal in 25 years. It no longer bothered him.
Jonathan Henry, 22, who was answering emergency calls at the Animal Medical Center on the Upper East Side, was newer to the holiday shift.
His family was back in Chicago, enjoying a home-cooked meal together.
He’d ordered Domino’s.
“It has not been easy,†he said.
Joseph Burgess contributed reporting.
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