New York Today: Warm Weather Ahead

Peter Morgan/Associated Press Beware of puddles: that snow will be melting fast.

Updated 8:01 a.m.

Good morning and happy Friday.

Lest you’ve forgotten, the city typically gets crazy the weekend before Christmas â€" between shoppers, carolers and tourists â€" before going all but silent.

The weather is proving less predictable:

Winter begins on Saturday, the solstice, but we are experiencing an odd return to gentler climes.

Call it autumn’s last gasp.

Today, the temperature will climb above 50 degrees.

Saturday will be even warmer, with a high in the mid 50s.

And Sunday: a whopping 64.

The record high for Central Park, reached in 1949 and 1998, was 63.

“We’re forecasting to break that record,” said Joe Pollina of the National Weather Service.

He explained that a high pressure system off the East Coast is pulling in warmer air from the south.

But by Tuesday, temperatures will drop again to freezing.

What’s in store for Christmas?

“It’ll feel like Christmas again,” Mr. Pollina said.

“But no snow.”

Here’s what else you need to know for Friday and the weekend.

COMMUTE

Subways: Delays on the D. Check latest status.

Rails: No major problems. Check L.I.R.R., Metro-North or New Jersey Transit status.

Roads: It’s a Gridlock Alert Day. Check traffic map or radio report on the 1s or the 8s.

Alternate-side parking is in effect.

Weekend Travel Hassles: Check subway disruptions or list of street closings.

DE BLASIO WATCH

From David W. Chen of the City Hall bureau of The Times:

- The mayor-elect has no public schedule today.

- But he will presumably be busy building his administration. With inauguration looming on Jan. 1, he has filled few major jobs.

- He is not expected to reveal his pick for the most scrutinized one, schools chancellor, until next week.

- On Thursday, he announced details of his plan for a tax on high-earners to finance prekindergarten and after-school programs. [New York Times]

- He denied that he was meddling in the race for City Council speaker. [Politicker]

COMING UP TODAY

- Mayor Bloomberg’s last radio show airs this morning on WOR 710 AM. The host, John Gambling, is signing off as well. He’s retiring.

- Prospect Park opens its new ice skating complex at 9 a.m. [$6, $5 skates]

- The Yankees introduce their new outfielder Carlos Beltran, in pinstripes, at Yankee Stadium. 11 a.m.

- Mayor Bloomberg takes the first ride on the 7-line extension, soon to open to the public, between Times Square and 11th Avenue and 34th Street. Noon.

- North Shore Animal League America brings “Santa Paws,” a pet adoption event, to a hotel in Midtown. 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

- Film Society of Lincoln Center kicks off a six-day showcase of the 15 documentaries shortlisted for an Academy Award. [$13 per film]

- One of the folk-singing Roche sisters, Terre, leads a caroling session under the Washington Square Arch. 6 p.m. [Free]

- The “Winter Solstice Celebration” at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine features the saxophonist Paul Winter. 8 p.m. [$35 and $55]

- The Empire State Building twinkles to a set of holiday songs that you can hear on 106.7 Lite FM. 7 p.m. [Free, look up]

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

IN THE NEWS

- The City Council did away with plastic-foam food containers, included e-cigarettes in the smoking ban, and required that restaurants compost food scraps. [New York Times]

- A City Councilman from Queens gave up his experiment living as a homeless man after contracting pneumonia. [Daily News]

- A front-page obituary about a pornographer: Al Goldstein, who pushed hard-core depictions of sex into the mainstream, died at 77. [New York Times]

- A look at several billion-dollar building projects, promoted by Mr. Bloomberg, that stand to change the city. [Gizmodo]

THE WEEKEND

Saturday

- A bird-watching walk sets out from Prospect Park’s Boathouse at noon. [Free]

- The “East Meets West Christmas Parade,” mixes the charms of Chinatown and Little Italy. Canal and Mulberry Streets. 2 p.m. [Free]

- A Mexican singing holiday processional makes its way through Harlem. 3 p.m. [Free]

- Take a four-mile walking tour of Dyker Heights in Brooklyn, which has some of most extravagant Christmas decorations in the country. 5:30 p.m. [Free]

Sunday

- Last chance to ride the Nostalgia Train: Vintage cars with wicker seats and old ads are running on the M line between 2nd Avenue and Queens Plaza from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. [$2.50, or a swipe]

- Circumnavigate the decommissioned reservoir that once supplied all of Brooklyn’s water, on the Brooklyn-Queens Border. 10 a.m. [Free]

- Urban survivalists in training: learn about animal tracking on Staten Island. 1 p.m. [Free, look down]

- The Preservation Hall Jazz Band presents a “Creole Christmas” at the Brooklyn Bowl. Doors open at 6 p.m. [$20]

Looking for something to do and see outside the city? We’ve compiled a list of upcoming events in Westchester, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut.

AND FINALLY…

On Saturday, you might hear strange music â€" in the streets, parks, on the first car of every Brooklyn-bound G train.

Or you can make it.

In the tradition of the first day of summer, Make Music New York has planned more thana dozen participatory parades for the first day of winter.

You can ding your bicycle bell in Prospect Park.

Or hit play on a boombox outside the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

If you plan to march in the parade that starts at Columbus Circle, bring your own melodica.

Joseph Burgess contributed reporting.

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