Week in Pictures for Aug. 9

See the slide show

Here is a slide show of photographs from the past week in New York City and the region. Subjects include former Gov. Eliot Spitzer in Queens, a campsite on Governors Island, and Playground 52 in the South Bronx.

This weekend on “The New York Times Close Up,” an inside look at the most compelling articles in the Sunday newspaper, Sam Roberts will speak with The Times’s Javier C. Hernández, Eleanor Randolph and Michael Barbaro. Also, Bill de Blasio, a mayoral candidate. Tune in at 10 p.m. Saturday or 10 a.m. Sunday on NY1 News to watch.

A sampling from the City Room blog is featured daily in the main print news section of The Times. You may also read current New York headlines, like New York Metro | The New York Times on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Week in Pictures for Aug. 9

See the slide show

Here is a slide show of photographs from the past week in New York City and the region. Subjects include former Gov. Eliot Spitzer in Queens, a campsite on Governors Island, and Playground 52 in the South Bronx.

This weekend on “The New York Times Close Up,” an inside look at the most compelling articles in the Sunday newspaper, Sam Roberts will speak with The Times’s Javier C. Hernández, Eleanor Randolph and Michael Barbaro. Also, Bill de Blasio, a mayoral candidate. Tune in at 10 p.m. Saturday or 10 a.m. Sunday on NY1 News to watch.

A sampling from the City Room blog is featured daily in the main print news section of The Times. You may also read current New York headlines, like New York Metro | The New York Times on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Irving Penn Photographs to Bolster Smithsonian Collection

On Friday the Smithsonian American Art Museum announced  that it had received 100 images by the 20th-century photographer as a gift from the Irving Penn Foundation, significantly broadening its collection of his work. The images span eight decades, and include iconic and previously unseen images ranging from his early street photography of the American South, snapshots of Europe after World War II, editorial and advertising photography for Vogue, pictures of still life, self-portraits, and well-known portraits of Truman Capote and Langston Hughes. The museum now has 161 of Penn’s images, which it will display at an exhibit in the fall of 2015.

“We were able to find and add a great many aspects that weren’t well known,” Elizabeth Broun, the Margaret and Terry Stent director of the museum, said in a telephone interview. “People will see the familiar Penn as well as a fuller, richer portrait of his achievements over his career.”

The artist’s son, Tom Penn, who is executive director of his foundation, added in a telephone interview that they “felt that they should have additional work to fill out areas where they did not have any of his work. He was extremely remarkable in the diversity of his work,” he said in a telephone interview. “People will be surprised to see one person crossing all of those eras.”

Artists Plan Their Sand Castles, Sponsorships Included

Karsten Moran for The New York Times Duke Riley with his manager, Kitty Joe Sainte-Marie, in his studio.

The drive-through window will be topped by a horseshoe crab, the menu board made of driftwood and the parking lot lined with seashells. That’s the vision that the artist Duke Riley has for his entry into Creative Time’s sand castle competition, scheduled to take place on Rockaway Beach on Friday afternoon. If his design, a boxy building with a square turret, seems familiar - or hunger-inducing - that’s the point.

“My sand castle will be brought to you by White Castle restaurants,” Mr. Riley said. “It will be a White Castle.”

Mr. Riley, a Brooklyn artist known for tongue-in-cheek work like staging a naval battle in a reflecting pool, was not kidding around: his entry was indeed sponsored by White Castle. The company had promised to send over uniforms for his team, as well as a supply of burgers - “to potentially bribe the judges,” Mr. Riley explained.

It’s still no biennial, but in its second year, this showdown, conceived of as a lark by the public arts organization Creative Time, has stepped up its game. Last year’s champions, Jennifer Catron and Paul Outlaw, who won for constructing a human fountain - they sat atop piles of sand and spurted water at each other - will return as judges, alongside art world impresarios like Klaus Biesenbach, director of MoMA PS 1. They’ll assess the 10 artistic teams invited by Creative Time, who all seem to be taking the endeavor pretty seriously, sketching plans way in advance, constructing mock-ups in their studios and addressing heavy concepts.

Duke Riley Duke Riley’s plan for his sand White Castle.

Sebastian Errazuriz, an artist and designer, was mindful of the post-9/11 dread he feels whenever he sees the shadow of a plane cross his path. “The proximity with the 12th anniversary of 9/11, the fragility of our sand constructions and the personal need to address this inherent fear” all inspired his shadow-work design, which will “hopefully serve as both a memorial and a cleansing,” he wrote in an e-mail.

In her piece, Jamie Isenstein planned to play with the structures used to present work in galleries. “This is an art crowd,” she said, “and people understand the pedestal and the cube.” After some research, she had jettisoned her original idea, to build a snowman, because it was too commonplace. “I thought it was impossible to make orbs out of sand, but with the right techniques, you can make pretty much anything,” she said. “People make snowmen out of sand on their beach vacations, take photos and then send them to people like, ‘Merry Christmas!’”

Still, Ms. Isenstein, a performance artist and sculptor, said she found the contest artistically fruitful. “I think a lot about ephemerality,” she said. “I do like the challenge of thinking about how to make a sculpture really fast and also I like the challenge of using a medium that I don’t normally use.” There may be a sand snowman in her future, after all. “I go to the beach regularly but I never make sand castles,” she said. “But now I think I will, because it turns out to be really fun.”

High-mindedness aside, fun will definitely be a part of the competition. “We are doing a kind of ‘Spring Breakers’ the movie meets Rockaway pirates mash-up,” Rachel Owens wrote, describing her idea to make witty beach-body T-shirts. The piece, she said, would be “about hybrids - gender, racial, mechanical, and organic, all with a redneck-Riviera wink. And a dose of Brooklyn diversity!”

And then there is Mr. Riley, who was a judge in the competition last year, so perhaps has a higher understanding of what it takes to win. His truck and studio in Red Hook, Brooklyn, were filled with pungent kelp and bags of seashells; he collected the dead horseshoe crabs himself, wading into the water in Dead Horse Bay.

“All these young people getting in the pro sand castle building game, they think it’s all fast cars and endorsements, girls in bikinis,” he said. “But you really got to have the drive and the commitment to make it all the way to the top.” (O.K., he allowed, there probably will be girls in bikinis.)

He speculated about the top prize. “There’s got to be some kind of parade or ring or something,” he said. “Product endorsements, Wheaties boxes.”

“This is kind of the Grand Prix of sand castle-building competitions, isn’t it?” he added.

Actually, no, it’s not. The winner is awarded a gold-plated shovel, a bucketful of liquor, and $500. Runners-up receive only the shovels (in silver and bronze) and the booze.

But that did not dissuade Mr. Reilly. “I know what it takes to be a champion and I intend to make it there on Friday,” he bragged this week.

Then again, he said: “You never want to get too cocky in this game. There’s always room for tragedy.”

The Creative Time Artist competition is free and open to the public. It opens at noon on the sand near Beach 86th Street on Rockaway Beach, Queens, with building beginning at 2 p.m. and judging at 5 p.m. An after-party follows at Rippers on the boardwalk. There is no rain date; check Creative Time’s Twitter and Facebook pages for updates in case of cancellation.

Big Ticket | $29 Million on Central Park West

Marilynn K. Yee/The New York Times A three-bedroom condo near the pinnacle of the 35-story tower portion includes a paneled library and a living room with Venetian plaster walls.

A sleekly appointed seven-room condominium at 15 Central Park West, the elaborate and exclusive limestone destination designed by Robert A.M. Stern, sold for $29 million and was the most expensive sale of the week, according to city records.

The 3,173-square-foot residence, No. 33D, is near the pinnacle of the 35-story tower portion of 15 Central Park West, which occupies a full city block at 61st Street. The unit’s lofty stature affords it unobstructed views of the Hudson River, Central Park and the city skyline. Monthly carrying charges are $5,674, and a storage unit transfers with the apartment.

The three-bedroom, four-bath home has 11-foot ceilings and mahogany doors. The corner living and dining rooms have Venetian plaster walls, floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the reservoir, and a 16-foot bay window that faces east toward the park. The library is paneled in tiger-striped maple and has built-in bookcases, and there is a chef’s kitchen with a center island and a glass pass-through to a den whose park views lend “great room” ambience.

All three bedrooms have en-suite baths, and the voluminous master suite has western and northern exposures toward the Hudson and Lincoln Center, as well as two walk-in closets and a bath with a double vanity and heated floors.

The sellers are Zachary Jared Schreiber, a founder and the chairman of the hedge fund PointState Capital, and his wife, Lori Fisher Schreiber. They bought the apartment for $11.19 million in 2008, the year 15 Central Park West was completed, but last year moved directly across the park to a six-bedroom full-floor co-op at 1030 Park Avenue and 62nd Street that they bought for $31.5 million from George S. Blumenthal, a founder of Cellular Communications, its owner since 1995. The Schreibers’ West Side residence was first listed for sale for $31.5 million in 2011 but was removed from the market last year.

The anonymous buyer of the Schreiber apartment was a limited-liability company, the Mussik Capital Corporation. Kyle W. Blackmon of Brown Harris Stevens, himself an early buyer at 15 Central Park West, represented both sides of the transaction. Mr. Blackmon, who according to Real Trends recorded $328,875,500 in residential sales in 2012, has been involved in the sales of more than a dozen condominiums at 15 Central Park West and currently has the $32 million listing for a five-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bath unit there among his active listings.

A $21 million sale at a lavish co-op on the Fifth Avenue side of the park was the week’s second-most-expensive transaction, and its most intriguing: the luxurious duplex apartment at 960 Fifth Avenue, No. 10/11B, that was the longtime home of Charles Lazarus, the billionaire founder of Toys “R” Us, was bought by a fellow billionaire, Carlos Rodriguez-Pastor, a Peruvian financier ranked as his country’s second-wealthiest resident.

Apparently Mr. Rodriguez-Pastor, who has a primary residence in Lima, Peru, and a previous Manhattan address at the Chatham, at 181 East 65th Street, felt the need for a city pied-à-terre with greater privacy and a more historic pedigree. His new Fifth Avenue address, whose nearest cross street is 77th, was designed by Warren & Wetmore, one of the primary architecture firms responsible for Grand Central Terminal; the supervisory architects for the co-op, which was completed in 1928, were Rosario Candela and Cross & Cross. Two mansions, one of them the 121-room giant at 1 East 77th Street that was the childhood home of the reclusive heiress Huguette Clark, were razed to make way for the apartment house. Past and present residents of note include the decorator Sister Parish and the socialite Anne Bass, whose 10,000-square-foot sanctuary was decorated by Mark Hampton.

The most recent asking price was $25 million; the duplex had been on the market in 2011 with a different brokerage and an initial asking price of $29 million, reduced to $24.5 million before the listing expired. The monthly maintenance charge of $11,682 covers a veritable platinum package of amenities â€" everything from a penthouse fitness center to a residents-only restaurant, the Georgian Suite, at 1A East 77th Street with, naturally, its own French chef.

The 11-room duplex has a 30-by-18-foot living room that faces directly onto the park, as does the library. A formal dining room, an eat-in kitchen with gourmet fittings, and two staff rooms complete the lower level. Upstairs on the private bedroom level are three bedrooms with en-suite baths, the most prominent being the statement-making master suite with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the park and two full dressing rooms.

Roderick Waywell of Charles Rutenberg Realty, who handled both sides of the deal, declined to comment because of a confidentiality agreement.

Big Ticket includes closed sales from the previous week, ending Wednesday.

What Inspired You to Work in the Visual Arts?

This summer, The New York Times is publishing essays by its critics about the moments or works that prompted them to write about the arts, along with stories from readers about their own epiphanies. Previously we heard from readers who work in television, classical music, dance, pop music and video games.

Next week, Holland Cotter will write about what set him on the path toward becoming an art critic for The Times. We want to hear from visual arts professionals about what inspired their careers.

Whether you’re a painter, a sculptor, a gallery owner, a curator, an art teacher, an administrator for an arts organization, a museum security guard or any other professional in the visual arts, we want to hear about the works of art or related experiences that led you to dedicate yourself to the field.

Please submit a comment below describing what you do and how an experience in the arts led you to your career. Keep submissions under 250 words.

We will present some of your stories alongside Mr. Cotter’s essay. We look forward to reading about your artistic inspirations.

Book Review Podcast: Who Was T. E. Lawrence?

Emiliano Ponzi

In The New York Times Book Review, Alex von Tunzelmann reviews “Lawrence in Arabia,” Scott Anderson’s new book about T. E. Lawrence. Von Tunzelmann writes:

There have, of course, been shelf-loads of books on Lawrence and his sphere, and an extremely famous film. But the existence of previous works may trouble critics more than readers. After all, somebody keeps buying the stuff. Anderson, a veteran war correspondent and an author of both fiction and nonfiction, gives Lawrence’s story a new spin by contextualizing him in a group biography. He weaves in the lives of three contemporary Middle Eastern spies: Curt Prüfer, a German conspiring with the Ottomans to bring down the British Empire; Aaron Aaronsohn, a Zionist agronomist of Romanian origin, settled in Palestine; and William Yale, an East Coast aristocrat and an agent of Standard Oil who ended up in the service of the American State Department. This allows him to bring in such rousingly modern themes as oil, jihad and Arab-Jewish conflict â€" though each of these was a markedly different prospect a century ago.

On this week’s podcast, Mr. Anderson talks about Lawrence; Brenda Wineapple discusses “Ecstatic Nation”; Leonard Marcus on the life and work of Randolph Caldecott; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Pamela Paul is the host.

Book Review Podcast: Who Was T. E. Lawrence?

Emiliano Ponzi

In The New York Times Book Review, Alex von Tunzelmann reviews “Lawrence in Arabia,” Scott Anderson’s new book about T. E. Lawrence. Von Tunzelmann writes:

There have, of course, been shelf-loads of books on Lawrence and his sphere, and an extremely famous film. But the existence of previous works may trouble critics more than readers. After all, somebody keeps buying the stuff. Anderson, a veteran war correspondent and an author of both fiction and nonfiction, gives Lawrence’s story a new spin by contextualizing him in a group biography. He weaves in the lives of three contemporary Middle Eastern spies: Curt Prüfer, a German conspiring with the Ottomans to bring down the British Empire; Aaron Aaronsohn, a Zionist agronomist of Romanian origin, settled in Palestine; and William Yale, an East Coast aristocrat and an agent of Standard Oil who ended up in the service of the American State Department. This allows him to bring in such rousingly modern themes as oil, jihad and Arab-Jewish conflict â€" though each of these was a markedly different prospect a century ago.

On this week’s podcast, Mr. Anderson talks about Lawrence; Brenda Wineapple discusses “Ecstatic Nation”; Leonard Marcus on the life and work of Randolph Caldecott; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Pamela Paul is the host.

‘Finding Nemo’ Sequel Is Altered in Response to Orcas Documentary

ANAHEIM, Calif. - “Blackfish,” the orcas-in-captivity documentary that has seared SeaWorld with negative publicity, prompted Pixar Animation Studios to rewrite part of its coming “Finding Nemo” sequel.

The script for “Finding Dory,” which is still in the early stages of production ahead of its planned 2015 release, initially had an ending that involved a marine park, according to a Pixar employee. But as a result of the sometimes harsh “Blackfish,” directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, and the resulting publicity battle SeaWorld has had to fight, Pixar decided to restructure that part of the story so that the fish and mammals taken to its aquatic center have the option to leave.

Walt Disney Studios, which includes Pixar, declined to comment.

Pixar movies change all the time while they are in the pipeline - that’s one of the benefits of animation. But in addition to reflecting the impact of “Blackfish,” the tweak offers a rare peek into the creative workings at Pixar, which keeps extremely quiet about its films until they are ready for release. The overall story line of “Finding Dory” is still a mystery, for instance.

John Lasseter, the Pixar co-founder, is scheduled to take the stage in Anaheim this morning at D23 Expo, a sprawling Disney fan convention, for a presentation of the company’s more immediate animated projects, including “The Good Dinosaur,” which is set for release in the spring.

‘Finding Nemo’ Sequel Altered in Response to Orcas Documentary

ANAHEIM, Calif. - “Blackfish,” the orcas-in-captivity documentary that has seared SeaWorld with negative publicity, prompted Pixar Animation Studios to rewrite part of its coming “Finding Nemo” sequel.

The script for “Finding Dory,” which is still in the early stages of production ahead of its planned 2015 release, initially had an ending that involved a marine park, according to a Pixar employee. But as a result of the sometimes harsh “Blackfish,” directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, and the resulting publicity battle SeaWorld has had to fight, Pixar decided to restructure that part of the story so that the fish and mammals taken to its aquatic center have the option to leave.

Walt Disney Studios, which includes Pixar, declined to comment.

Pixar movies change all the time while they are in the pipeline - that’s one of the benefits of animation. But in addition to reflecting the impact of “Blackfish,” the tweak offers a rare peek into the creative workings at Pixar, which keeps extremely quiet about its films until they are ready for release. The overall storyline of “Finding Dory” is still a mystery, for instance.

John Lasseter, the Pixar co-founder, is scheduled to take the stage in Anaheim this morning at D23 Expo, a sprawling Disney fan convention, for a presentation of the company’s more immediate animated projects, including “The Good Dinosaur,” which is set for release in the spring.

Aug. 9: Where the Candidates Are Today

Planned events for the mayoral candidates, according to the campaigns and organizations they are affiliated with. Times are listed as scheduled but frequently change.

Nicholas Wells and Kenan Christiansen contributed reporting.

Event information is listed as provided at the time of publication. Details for many of Ms. Quinn events are not released for publication.Maps of all campaign events since April »

Events by candidate

Albanese

De Blasio

Liu

Weiner

Group event

John A. Catsimatidis
Republican

1 p.m.
Participates in a Republican candidate forum organized by The Daily News, WABC, the League of Women Voters and Univision, to be live-streamed online today and broadcast on WABC-TV on Sunday. Candidates gathering at studio at 149 Columbus Avenue.

Bill de Blasio
Democrat

12 p.m.
Concludes his “Emerging Industries Tour,” by calling on small-business owners, mostly immigrants, to share proposals that might help their businesses develop, at Haveli restaurant in Queens.

1:30 p.m.
Greets voters with his wife, Chirlane McCray, at the 72nd Street subway station on Broadway.

6 p.m.
Greets concertgoers with his wife, Chirlane McCray, at Celebrate Brooklyn!, featuring Shaggy and TK Wonder, at the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn.

John C. Liu
Democrat

7 a.m.
Sets out to meet voters in all five boroughs over the course of the day, starting with early morning commuters at the 116th Street subway station, in Rockaway Beach.

9:05 a.m.
Tours small businesses along Beach 116th Street in Far Rockaway, starting at Nature’s Island.

9:30 a.m.
Meets with hospital workers to discuss quality health care and continuing rebuilding efforts, at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Queens.

11:10 a.m.
Visits with senior citizens, at the Alpha Phi Alpha Senior Center on Linden Boulevard in Queens.

12 p.m.
Visits with senior citizens, at the Robert Couche Senior Center on Farmers Boulevard in Queens.

3:45 p.m.
Tours small businesses along Westchester Avenue in the Bronx, starting at Lucca Restaurant.

5 p.m.
Greets evening commuters, at the Manhattan Whitehall Terminal of the Staten Island Ferry.

6 p.m.
Rides the Staten Island Ferry to a Staten Island Yankees home game, against the Lowell Spinners.

6:30 p.m.
Joins the “John Liu Youth Action Team” at the Staten Island Yankees game against the Lowell Spinners, at Richmond County Bank Ballpark.

7:30 p.m.
Addresses the Martin Luther King Jr. Democratic Club at its “Unity Is Ours” reception, at the Cathedral Parkway Towers in Manhattan.

8:15 p.m.
Attends the Dominican Day Parade reception, two days before the parade, at the 809 Lounge in Inwood, Manhattan.

9:30 p.m.
Finishes his day in Brooklyn, the fifth borough on the itinerary, where he will greet concertgoers at Celebrate Brooklyn! a few hours after Bill de Blasio and his wife will have worked the crowd. Tonight’s performances feature Shaggy and TK Wonder, at the Prospect Park Bandshell.

Joseph J. Lhota
Republican

1 p.m.
Participates in a Republican candidate forum organized by The Daily News, WABC, the League of Women Voters and Univision, to be live-streamed online today and broadcast on WABC-TV on Sunday. Candidates gathering at studio at 149 Columbus Avenue.

William C. Thompson Jr.
Democrat

8:15 p.m.
Attends the Dominican Day Parade reception, two days before the parade, at the 809 Lounge in Inwood, Manhattan.

Anthony D. Weiner
Democrat

11:30 a.m.
Visits with senior citizens, at the Jewish Association for Services’ Starrett City Senior Center in Brooklyn.

12:45 p.m.
Tours small businesses in Brooklyn, starting at Master’s Barber Shop on Pitkin Avenue.

2:15 p.m.
Suggests that the city issue photo-identification cards called “Big Apple Cards” to all New Yorkers, as part of his continuing “Keys to the City” tour, at the RJM Mini Market in Brooklyn.

Sal F. Albanese
Democrat

1 p.m.
Visits small businesses along 13th Avenue in Boro Park, starting at Eichler’s Judaica Store.

6:20 p.m.
Greets moviegoers beforehand and then attends screening of “Zipper: Coney Island’s Last Wild Ride,” a documentary that takes a sober look at the redevelopment of Coney Island, and some of the special interests behind it, at the IFC Center on Sixth Avenue.

George T. McDonald
Republican

1 p.m.
Participates in a Republican candidate forum organized by The Daily News, WABC, the League of Women Voters and Univision, to be live-streamed online today and broadcast on WABC-TV on Sunday. Candidates gathering at studio at 149 Columbus Avenue.

Readers with information about events involving the mayoral candidates are invited to send details and suggestions for coverage to cowan@nytimes.com. You can also follow us on Twitter @cowannyt.

Aug. 9: Where the Candidates Are Today

Planned events for the mayoral candidates, according to the campaigns and organizations they are affiliated with. Times are listed as scheduled but frequently change.

Nicholas Wells and Kenan Christiansen contributed reporting.

Event information is listed as provided at the time of publication. Details for many of Ms. Quinn events are not released for publication.Maps of all campaign events since April »

Events by candidate

Albanese

De Blasio

Liu

Weiner

Group event

John A. Catsimatidis
Republican

1 p.m.
Participates in a Republican candidate forum organized by The Daily News, WABC, the League of Women Voters and Univision, to be live-streamed online today and broadcast on WABC-TV on Sunday. Candidates gathering at studio at 149 Columbus Avenue.

Bill de Blasio
Democrat

12 p.m.
Concludes his “Emerging Industries Tour,” by calling on small-business owners, mostly immigrants, to share proposals that might help their businesses develop, at Haveli restaurant in Queens.

1:30 p.m.
Greets voters with his wife, Chirlane McCray, at the 72nd Street subway station on Broadway.

6 p.m.
Greets concertgoers with his wife, Chirlane McCray, at Celebrate Brooklyn!, featuring Shaggy and TK Wonder, at the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn.

John C. Liu
Democrat

7 a.m.
Sets out to meet voters in all five boroughs over the course of the day, starting with early morning commuters at the 116th Street subway station, in Rockaway Beach.

9:05 a.m.
Tours small businesses along Beach 116th Street in Far Rockaway, starting at Nature’s Island.

9:30 a.m.
Meets with hospital workers to discuss quality health care and continuing rebuilding efforts, at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Queens.

11:10 a.m.
Visits with senior citizens, at the Alpha Phi Alpha Senior Center on Linden Boulevard in Queens.

12 p.m.
Visits with senior citizens, at the Robert Couche Senior Center on Farmers Boulevard in Queens.

3:45 p.m.
Tours small businesses along Westchester Avenue in the Bronx, starting at Lucca Restaurant.

5 p.m.
Greets evening commuters, at the Manhattan Whitehall Terminal of the Staten Island Ferry.

6 p.m.
Rides the Staten Island Ferry to a Staten Island Yankees home game, against the Lowell Spinners.

6:30 p.m.
Joins the “John Liu Youth Action Team” at the Staten Island Yankees game against the Lowell Spinners, at Richmond County Bank Ballpark.

7:30 p.m.
Addresses the Martin Luther King Jr. Democratic Club at its “Unity Is Ours” reception, at the Cathedral Parkway Towers in Manhattan.

8:15 p.m.
Attends the Dominican Day Parade reception, two days before the parade, at the 809 Lounge in Inwood, Manhattan.

9:30 p.m.
Finishes his day in Brooklyn, the fifth borough on the itinerary, where he will greet concertgoers at Celebrate Brooklyn! a few hours after Bill de Blasio and his wife will have worked the crowd. Tonight’s performances feature Shaggy and TK Wonder, at the Prospect Park Bandshell.

Joseph J. Lhota
Republican

1 p.m.
Participates in a Republican candidate forum organized by The Daily News, WABC, the League of Women Voters and Univision, to be live-streamed online today and broadcast on WABC-TV on Sunday. Candidates gathering at studio at 149 Columbus Avenue.

William C. Thompson Jr.
Democrat

8:15 p.m.
Attends the Dominican Day Parade reception, two days before the parade, at the 809 Lounge in Inwood, Manhattan.

Anthony D. Weiner
Democrat

11:30 a.m.
Visits with senior citizens, at the Jewish Association for Services’ Starrett City Senior Center in Brooklyn.

12:45 p.m.
Tours small businesses in Brooklyn, starting at Master’s Barber Shop on Pitkin Avenue.

2:15 p.m.
Suggests that the city issue photo-identification cards called “Big Apple Cards” to all New Yorkers, as part of his continuing “Keys to the City” tour, at the RJM Mini Market in Brooklyn.

Sal F. Albanese
Democrat

1 p.m.
Visits small businesses along 13th Avenue in Boro Park, starting at Eichler’s Judaica Store.

6:20 p.m.
Greets moviegoers beforehand and then attends screening of “Zipper: Coney Island’s Last Wild Ride,” a documentary that takes a sober look at the redevelopment of Coney Island, and some of the special interests behind it, at the IFC Center on Sixth Avenue.

George T. McDonald
Republican

1 p.m.
Participates in a Republican candidate forum organized by The Daily News, WABC, the League of Women Voters and Univision, to be live-streamed online today and broadcast on WABC-TV on Sunday. Candidates gathering at studio at 149 Columbus Avenue.

Readers with information about events involving the mayoral candidates are invited to send details and suggestions for coverage to cowan@nytimes.com. You can also follow us on Twitter @cowannyt.

‘Apple Family’ Cast Loses a Sister for Final Play

The Apple family of Rhinebeck, N.Y., is breaking up. Well, sort of: The Public Theater announced on Thursday that its ambitious production of Richard Nelson’s four-part “Apple Family Plays” would not include the actress J. Smith-Cameron, who played the sister Jane in the first three plays. They had their premieres at the Public during the falls of 2010, 2011 and 2012; the fourth play, “Regular Singing,” will run in repertory this fall with the earlier plays, which drew widespread critical acclaim for their portrait of a politically disillusioned family of four siblings and their beloved uncle, whom they are slowly losing to dementia.

Ms. Smith-Cameron, an Obie Award-winning actress (“The Maids,” “As Bees in Honey Drown”), said in an e-mail that she had a scheduling conflict because of her role on the Sundance Channel television series “Rectify,” which was renewed in May for a second season of 10 episodes. She said she had to pass on the Apple plays because the Public Theater needed a commitment from her in June, before the “Rectify” filming schedule was known. Ms. Smith-Cameron will be replaced by Sally Murphy, who has herself played a sister in a balky family - Ivy Weston in the Broadway production of “August: Osage County.” Ms. Smith-Cameron said she was looking forward to seeing Ms. Murphy in the role.

Also not returning is Shuler Hensley, who played Jane’s boyfriend Tim in the first two plays in the Apple cycle. Tim was written out of the 2012 Apple play, “Sorry,” which ran at the Public last fall when Mr. Hensley was starring in the Off Broadway production of “The Whale.” For “Regular Singing” and repertory run, Tim will be played by Stephen Kunken, a Tony nominee for “Enron.” Mr. Hensley is unavailable because he is in the Broadway productions of “Waiting for Godot” and “No Man’s Land” this fall.

The other Apples - Maryann Plunkett as Barbara, Jay O. Sanders as Richard, Laila Robins as Marian and Jon Devries as Uncle Benjamin - will be returning.

“Regular Singing” and the earlier Apple plays - “That Hopey Changey Thing” and “Sweet and Sad” as well as “Sorry” - will be performed Oct. 22-Dec. 15. Each unfolds in real time on a date with resonance in American political life; the action of “Regular Singing,” for instance, takes place this Nov. 22, the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Video Reviews of ‘Elysium,’ ‘Lovelace’ and ‘Prince Avalanche’

In this week’s video, Times critics share their thoughts on “Elysium,” “Lovelace” and “Prince Avalanche.” See all of this week’s reviews here.

100 Monologues From Bogosian to Kick Off Labyrinth Theater Season

Labyrinth Theater Company announced on Friday that as part of its 2013-14 season the Obie Award-winning playwright Eric Bogosian would perform roughly 100 monologues during October from his legendary one-man shows in the 1980s and ‘90s. The monologues, culled from plays like “Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll” and “Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead,” will differ for each performance, which will run Oct. 1-20 at Labyrinth’s Bank Street Theater.

The fall season will also include “Sunset Baby” by Dominique Morisseau (“Detroit ‘67”); the new play is described in press materials as “the story of a former black revolutionary and political prisoner who decides to connect with his estranged daughter.” Performances are scheduled to begin Nov. 6 at Bank Street Theater. Also there this fall Labyrinth will hold a new series of “artist salons” featuring performances and conversations with company members like the poet Craig “Mums” Grant (Arnold Jackson on HBO’s “Oz”) and the Tony Award nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega (“Rent”). A Labyrinth spring production will be announced later.

This 2013-14 season of Labyrinth, a downtown troupe known for its ethnically diverse casts, is the first to be planned by the company’s new artistic director, Mimi O’Donnell. She was appointed in the spring after a few rocky years when Labyrinth productions drew poor reviews after years of acclaim; Ms. O’Donnell had been part of a triumvirate of artistic directors who led Labyrinth during that period.

East Side Heat Wave

Dear Diary:

Seen on 72nd Street and First Avenue at 9:30 p.m. during the heat wave:

A woman in a beach chair, with laptop and ear phones, settled just inside the locked doors of a brightly lighted and nicely cool Chase Bank.

Heard on East 72nd Street:
A man talking to his dog: “Couldn’t we pick up the pace a bit? You’re in New York City now.”

Read all recent entries and our updated submissions guidelines. Reach us via e-mail diary@nytimes.com or follow @NYTMetro on Twitter using the hashtag #MetDiary.

East Side Heat Wave

Dear Diary:

Seen on 72nd Street and First Avenue at 9:30 p.m. during the heat wave:

A woman in a beach chair, with laptop and ear phones, settled just inside the locked doors of a brightly lighted and nicely cool Chase Bank.

Heard on East 72nd Street:
A man talking to his dog: “Couldn’t we pick up the pace a bit? You’re in New York City now.”

Read all recent entries and our updated submissions guidelines. Reach us via e-mail diary@nytimes.com or follow @NYTMetro on Twitter using the hashtag #MetDiary.

New York Today: Debate Day

Left, Michael Appleton for The New York Times; right, Damon Winter/The New York Times No more split screen: Scott M. Stringer, left, and Eliot Spitzer face off for the first time today in the comptroller’s race.

Friday offers fans of political theater a double feature of candidate debates.

The bigger draw may be the smaller race â€" comptroller, where Scott M. Stringer, the mild-mannered Manhattan borough president, was a shoo-in until former Gov. Eliot Spitzer burst back on the scene. It will be live-streamed at 10 a.m. on the sites of WABC-TV and The Daily News.

At 1 p.m., the Republican candidates for mayor â€" John A. Catsimatidis, Joseph J. Lhota and George T. McDonald â€" will square off (streamed on the same sites).

We asked our colleague Michael M. Grynbaum, who covers city politics, to handicap the matchups.

“This will be the first face-to-face encounter between Spitzer and Stringer, and we are expecting some fireworks,” Mr. Grynbaum  told us.

Mr. Stringer “will not hesitate to go negative” by bringing up Mr. Spitzer’s record, including his prostitution scandal.

Mr. Spitzer, for his part, “will get to show off his rhetorical chops” honed over years as a prosecutor. “The cerebral Spitzer may have an edge in this extemporaneous setting,” Mr. Grynbaum said.

The latest New York Times/Siena College poll finds Mr. Spitzer leading Mr. Stringer, 44 percent to 35 percent.

Regarding the Republican mayoral candidates, “a televised debate could be influential in determining the outcome,” given the small number of Republicans in the city, Mr. Grynbaum said.

Here’s what else you need to know for Friday and the soggy-turning-sunny weekend.

WEATHER

More rain â€" another half inch or so is forecast â€" with a high of 81. (Thursday’s storms included a microburst that tore through Rockland County, toppling trees and tearing roofs off buildings.) Umbrella weather, for sure.

Skies should clear Saturday, though, and stay that way through through Monday. Weekend highs in the mid-80s.

TRANSIT & TRAFFIC

- Mass Transit: Click for latest M.T.A. status.

- Roads: Click for traffic map or radio report on the 1s.

Alternate-side parking is suspended for Id al-Fitr. Meters remain in effect.

COMING UP TODAY

- Mayoral candidates tour small businesses: Bill de Blasio (an Indian restaurant on Queens Boulevard), Anthony D. Weiner (a barber shop in East New York), and John C. Liu (a diner in Rockaway Beach).

- The Greek prime minister, Antonis Samaras, visits the mayor at City Hall.

- More than 100 kayakers and canoers who have paddled down the Hudson from Albany to urge the government to honor treaties with the Indians lands at West 57th Street and heads to the United Nations.

- More paddlers: a paddle-boarding marathon around Manhattan to raise money for autism and Hurricane Sandy relief.

- Big sand-castle competition on Rockaway Beach at 2 p.m. [Free]

- The ubiquitous indie-rock provocateur Amanda Palmer and her Grand Theft Orchestra play the Damrosch Park bandshell. 7:30 p.m. [Free]

- “It wasn’t me,” the Kingston-born, Flatbush-raised reggae icon Shaggy will remind us when he performs in Prospect Park. 7:30 p.m. [Free]

- The New York International Fringe Festival, featuring a dizzying 1,100 theatrical performances on 20 stages across the city, gets under way. The Times has a curated guide. [Free]

IN THE NEWS

- A grand jury declined to indict the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed teenager, Ramarley Graham, in his bathroom in the Bronx. Federal prosecutors said they would review the case. [New York Times]

- Christine C. Quinn pulls ahead of the pack in the polls as Mr. Weiner fades. [New York Times]

- One of the winning Powerball tickets is held by a group of 16 county workers in New Jersey. [Asbury Park Press]

- Batten down the hatches for another above-normal hurricane season. [NOAA]

- An impressively stout seal clambered ashore in East River Park in Williamsburg and was caught on video. [Gothamist]

- Mets finish sweep of Rockies, 2-1.

Michael M. Grynbaum, Nicole Higgins DeSmet and E.C. Gogolak contributed reporting.

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