The Ad Campaign: ‘Lhota, You’re No Rudy’

First aired: September 3, 2013

Produced by: The Victory Group

for: John A. Catsimatidis

One of Joseph J. Lhota’s credentials in appealing to Republican voters is his association with former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, for whom he worked as budget director and deputy mayor. Mr. Lhota’s top rival in the Republican mayoral primary, John A. Catsimatidis, is now taking aim at that pairing, seeking to portray Mr. Lhota as a lackluster public servant compared with his former boss. Mr. Catsimatidis’s 30-second commercial “Not Even Close” is the latest in a series of advertisements he has made attacking Mr. Lhota; it began being shown on Tuesday on cable and broadcast stations.

Fact-Check

0:02

“Joe Lhota called Port Authority police ‘mall cops’ after 37 lost their lives on 9/11.”

Mr. Catsimatidis is taking advantage of several spontaneous comments that Mr. Lhota wishes he could take back. At a candidate forum in May, Mr. Lhota referred to officers for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as “nothing more than mall cops.” He later apologized for the comment.

0:09

““Lhota stiffed M.T.A. workers while raising every fare and toll in New York.”

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority did raise fares and tolls while Mr. Lhota was its chairman, although those increases had previously been planned. It is not clear what Mr. Catsimatidis means when he asserts that Mr. Lhota “stiffed” workers. The contract of the largest union of transit workers expired in January 2012, shortly after Mr. Lhota joined the authority, and Mr. Lhota did not reach a contract agreement with the union before he resigned to run for mayor. While at the authority, he called for three years of “net zero” increases in labor costs; that was in line with what his predecessor, Jay H. Walder, had pursued and in line with the contracts that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo had negotiated with the state’s public employee unions.

0:15

“Lhota taunted a senior to “be a man”. That senior survived the Holocaust.”

The ad’s claim that Mr. Lhota taunted a senior citizen who was a Holocaust survivor refers to an incident at a transportation authority board meeting in September 2012 in which Mr. Lhota clashed publicly with a board member, Charles G. Moerdler, who was 77 at the time, over the board’s meeting schedule. Mr. Lhota twice challenged him to “be a man,” but apologized after the meeting, saying, “I think my Bronx upbringing came out today.” Mr. Moerdler was born in Paris and is a Holocaust survivor, but he is better known for serving in civic positions in New York over several decades, including a stint as the city’s housing and buildings commissioner in the 1960s.

Scorecard

With a week until the primary, Mr. Catsimatidis is betting that his barrage of attack advertisements is eroding Mr. Lhota’s reputation with Republican voters, leaving them with the impression that Mr. Lhota is disrespectful and has a short fuse.

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Coming Soon: Live Fact-Checking the Democratic Mayoral Primary Debate

With just a week to go until the Democratic primary for mayor, tonight’s final televised debate promises great drama and suspense: Bill de Blasio, the public advocate, is well ahead in recent polls, and Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker, and William C. Thompson, the former comptroller, are neck and neck for second place. Ms. Quinn and Mr. Thompson each needs to try to change the dynamic by if they are to prevent Mr. de Blasio from winning the nomination outright next Tuesday. Under the city’s rules, a nominee will be declared if one of the candidates wins 40 percent of the vote; if not, a runoff will be held Oct. 1.

Last time around, Mr. de Blasio seemed caught off guard by tag-team assaults from Ms. Quinn and Mr. Thompson. No doubt he will be prepared for a double-teaming tonight with new counterattacks of his own.

We, too, are readying a ratcheted-up response to tonight’s climactic encounter, which begins at 7 p.m. and will be aired on NBC 4 New York and WOR Radio in English, Telemundo Nueva York in Spanish, and online at nbcnewyork.com and wsj.com/ny.

A team of half a dozen of us will be live-blogging the 90-minute debate, illuminating the shadings of truth and exaggerations in the claims the candidates make, and calling out the inaccuracies or out-and-out howlers in the facts they toss around.

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6:10 P.M. While You Wait, Peruse Our Ad Fact-Checks

We’ve been examining the content, context and truthfulness of television ads run by candidates for mayor and by independent groups seeking to influence the 2013 campaigns.

â€" The New York Times

Michelle Williams to Make Broadway Debut in ‘Cabaret’

Evan Agostini/Invision, via Associated Press Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams, the three-time Academy Award nominee and former star of the television series “Dawson’s Creek,” will make her Broadway debut this season as Sally Bowles in Roundabout Theater Company’s revival of “Cabaret,” according to two theater executives familiar with the casting news. Ms. Williams will star along with Alan Cumming as the M.C., a role he played in the 1998 Roundabout production of “Cabaret” - and for which he won a Tony Award. The producers are aiming to start performances in early 2014.

The role of Sally - made famous by Liza Minnelli in Bob Fosse’s 1972 film adaptation - was initially going to be played by the film star Emma Stone (“The Amazing Spider-Man”), but her representatives said in May that movie commitments prevented her from starring in “Cabaret.” The news about Ms. Williams was first reported on Tuesday by Brendan Lemon on his blog lemonwade.com.

The two theater executives with knowledge of Ms. Williams’ casting spoke on condition of anonymity because Roundabout Theater Company had not authorized its announcement. A spokesman for Roundabout, asked about Ms. Williams, said on Tuesday, “We’ll be announcing information shortly, which will also be on roundabouttheatre.org.”

A representative for Ms. Williams, contacted on Tuesday afternoon, had no immediate information about the “Cabaret” casting. Ms. Williams was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress for “Brokeback Mountain” - in which she appeared opposite Heath Ledger, who became her partner and father of her daughter - and then for best actress for “Blue Valentine” and “My Week with Marilyn.” The director Sam Mendes is expected to stage the revival, with Rob Marshall as co-director and choreographer - duties they shared for the 1998 revival as well.

The original Broadway production of “Cabaret” opened in 1966 and won the Tony for best musical and best score for the composer John Kander and the lyricist Fred Ebb; the show has a book by Joe Masteroff, based on writings by Christopher Isherwood.

Summer Attendance Falls on Broadway, but High Prices Lift Sales Totals

Richard Termine for The New York Times A scene from the Broadway musical “Soul Doctor.”

Broadway’s attendance problem continued through the tourist-heavy summer months of 2013, with 8 percent fewer audience members between Memorial Day and Labor Day compared to the same period in 2012, according to data supplied by producers of Broadway shows.

The major factors appeared to be the ongoing failure of some new musical arrivals to attract big audiences - like “Soul Doctor,” “Let It Be,” and “Forever Tango” - and a lack of plays and musicals to fill several other Broadway theaters. The chronically high price of tickets may have deterred some potential theatergoers as well, though expensive tickets did help lift overall box office sales slightly in spite of the lower attendance.

Broadway plays and musicals grossed $323.7 million between Memorial Day and Labor Day, compared to $321.7 during the summer of 2012; attendance was 3,031,890 this summer, compared to 3,294,346 in the summer of 2012.

The audience decline became evident during the 2012-13 theater season, which was down 6 percent in patronage - Broadway’s worst attendance record in eight years. Hurricane Sandy was partly to blame, shuttering theaters in late October 2012 and probably depressing attendance at some shows in the weeks afterward. But a far bigger problem was a lack of popular shows, especially in the fall when musicals like “Scandalous,” “Bring It On,” and “Chaplin” did middling business or worse. Ticket sales picked up during the spring, with the musicals “Kinky Boots,” “Motown,” “Pippin,” and “Matilda” emerging as box office hits. Those shows continue to be popular, driving up box office grosses over the summer along with the reliably top-grossing musicals “The Lion King,” “Wicked,” and “The Book of Mormon.”

One bright spot: Attendance has improved slightly in the last couple of weeks. For performances during the week ending on Sunday, attendance was up about 5 percent compared to the previous year, according to statistics released on Tuesday by the Broadway League, the trade association that compiles data from producers. “The Lion King,” “Mormon,” and “Wicked” were the top three shows in receipts last week, while the new musical “First Date” and the new production of “Romeo and Juliet” sold relatively well.

The musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” continued to struggle, having its second week in a row with a gross below $1 million - unusual for a musical that is popular with families and tourists, who tend to dominate Broadway audiences during holiday weekends. And “Soul Doctor” had the lowest gross of any show running last week â€" $171,977, or 24 percent of the maximum potential gross.

Overall Broadway shows grossed $20.5 million last week, compared to $19.3 million during the comparable week in 2012. Attendance last week was 199,212, compared to 190,433 a year ago.

Curators Chosen for American Pavilion at Architecture Biennale

The State Department has selected three curators who will turn the United States pavilion at the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale into an experiment in reimagining the last 100 years of American building abroad. They are Ashley Schafer, editor of the Boston-based architecture journal Praxis, Eva Franch Gilabert, executive director of the Storefront for Art and Architecture in Manhattan and Ana Miljački, an architecture professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs chose the trio with advice from a committee of curators and design experts, said Susan Pittman, a spokeswoman for the department.

Rem Koolhaas, the Rotterdam architect who will direct the 2014 Biennale, had said he wanted participating countries to focus “on architecture, not architects,” explained Ms. Franch, who with her co-curators will select 1,000 projects designed by U.S. firms for sites outside the U.S. â€" architecture that, in her words, “spread the project of modernity worldwide.”

Ms. Milaki said the hope is to “reactivate” projects by firms like the Architects’ Collaborative of Cambridge, Mass., which designed a campus for the University of Baghdad in the 1950s, and Albert Kahn, the Detroit architect whose Moscow office helped to industrialize the Soviet Union in the 1930s.

The pavilion will be a working architecture office as much as an exhibition space. The curators will select five design “fellows” to reinvent many of the past projects in front of visitors. “They will need to be extroverts, because they will be designing in public from June through November,” said Ms. Schafer. She said the fellows will be paid a small stipend. The pavilion interiors will be designed by the New York firm Leong Leong.

The design fellows will be joined by design experts and even visitors to the pavilion â€" “anyone can work in the office for a day,” Ms. Franch said, calling the plan an experiment in rethinking the conventions of American architectural practice. The State Department is providing $100,000 to the pavilion organizers, who expect to raise several times as much from donors, including architecture firms.

Pair of Nimble Hands Ever Ready at U.S. Open, With a Needle

Earl Wilson/The New York Times Kathy Karadza was hard at work early this week at the United States Open tennis tournament in Queens.

Kathy Karadza is under intense pressure during the early stages of the United States Open tennis tournament. She is in near-constant motion and the demand for perfection is often intense.

But Ms. Karadza is not a player, a coach or even a ball person. She is a highly trained seamstress, on site full time during the first nine days of the tournament, poised to make repairs and prevent any tennis outfit malfunctions. Forty alterations per day or more is routine.

“Once I walk in I don’t really stop,” Ms. Karadza said. “Hemming skirts, fixing stitching, putting bra pads in tanks. Someone tore her shorts. It was really hectic.”

Clothing is chosen carefully to allow maximum performance, so having professional sewing help readily available is vital. “You want something that allows you to play without interference,” said Brian Baker, an American player who called upon Ms. Karadza to sew a patch bearing the name of a sponsor onto his clothing just before a singles match last Wednesday. “If the material is not the most comfortable, you’re not going to play your best and you’re going to think about it.” (Mr. Baker lost the match.)

Ms. Karadza, 37, who lives in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, has also employed her skills on the sets of soap operas, on fashion runways and behind the scenes of Broadway shows, like “The Lion King.’’ But last week, as the only official United States Open seamstress, she was stationed inside the women’s locker room at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, her sewing machine whirring almost constantly.

This is the first year Ms. Karadza has worked at the tournament, but the fourth year that the open has had an official seamstress. Before that, players were on their own, but officials decided that their sewing skills were lacking.

Male players often show up with multiple shirts that need a rip repaired or other alterations so that they will have plenty as mid-match replacements. “Someone needed seven,” Ms. Karadza said. “And he wanted them immediately. I got them done. People wait till the last minute. A lot of times it’s a half-hour before the match, I hand them the shirt.”

Ms. Karadza’s most common task involves late requests to apply sponsors’ patches. These can be particularly tricky because size, color and placement restrictions are strictly delineated in several paragraphs of the official five-page tournament rule book on attire. Fines for faulty patch placement can cost players up to $20,000 per infraction.

In the early rounds, lower-ranked players who play on a court where the matches are televised can find themselves with new sponsors who want their names promoted. That was the case on Friday when Ms. Karadza was presented with an irregularly shaped VitaCoco patch to sew on Donald Young’s shirt hours before he lost a match played on the Grandstand court and broadcast on ESPN2.

To comply with the rules, Ms. Karadza lopped off the head of a palm tree and a cursive tag line, rendering the coconut water brand’s normally festive logo a more mundane, rectangular shape.

Another player, Camila Giorgi from Italy, needed Ms. Karadza’s help affixing a patch from an 11th-hour sponsor, SuperTennis, an Italian tennis channel, to the front of a pale blue dress designed my Ms. Giorgi’s mother. Ms. Giorgi wasn’t sure what she would have done had Ms. Karadza not been available. “I don’t sew â€" I will put it in a different way, maybe with an adhesive,” she said. (Ms. Giorgi wound up beating a higher-ranked player.)

As the tournament reaches the final rounds and the courts are taken over by top players, Ms. Karadza’s sewing hands are usually no longer much needed. Players tend to have longstanding sponsorships and plenty of camera-ready outfits. But should a new patch need to be applied after Ms. Karadza vacates her post, she says, some players have been known to resort to a common office device â€" a stapler.

Paley Center’s Television Festival Coming to New York

For diehard television viewers in New York who aren’t satisfied seeing their favorite shows in their living rooms, and who want to share some in-person time with the casts and creators of these programs, the Paley Center for Media will soon offer some relief.

On Tuesday, the Paley Center said that in October it will introduce a New York incarnation of its annual PaleyFest, focusing on shows and talent based here. This festival, called PaleyFest: Made in NY and presented in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, will run from Oct. 2 through 6 at the Paley Center for Media, at 25 West 52nd Street.

Over the 30 years it has run in Los Angeles, the PaleyFest has featured panels with the stars of broadcast and cable TV series like “American Horror Story,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Mad Men” and “Modern Family.”

Though a full lineup of programming was not immediately announced, the Paley Center said in a news release that events will include panels with actors and creators from “Orange Is the New Black,” “Elementary,” “The Americans,” “The Outs” and “Boardwalk Empire.”

Tickets for the New York festival will go on sale to Paley Center members on Wednesday and to the general public on Friday.

Paley Center’s Television Festival Coming to New York

For diehard television viewers in New York who aren’t satisfied seeing their favorite shows in their living rooms, and who want to share some in-person time with the casts and creators of these programs, the Paley Center for Media will soon offer some relief.

On Tuesday, the Paley Center said that in October it will introduce a New York incarnation of its annual PaleyFest, focusing on shows and talent based here. This festival, called PaleyFest: Made in NY and presented in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, will run from Oct. 2 through 6 at the Paley Center for Media, at 25 West 52nd Street.

Over the 30 years it has run in Los Angeles, the PaleyFest has featured panels with the stars of broadcast and cable TV series like “American Horror Story,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Mad Men” and “Modern Family.”

Though a full lineup of programming was not immediately announced, the Paley Center said in a news release that events will include panels with actors and creators from “Orange Is the New Black,” “Elementary,” “The Americans,” “The Outs” and “Boardwalk Empire.”

Tickets for the New York festival will go on sale to Paley Center members on Wednesday and to the general public on Friday.

‘Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812’ Moving to Midtown

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Phillipa Soo and Lucas Steele onstage in May.

The big red pop-up tent in the meatpacking district - home to the unusual nightclub-meets-musical production of “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” - is moving uptown to the theater district, though not to a Broadway house. At least not yet.

“The Great Comet,” based on a section of Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” and one of the best-reviewed shows of the 2012-13 theater season, will mount its tent in the empty lot on West 45th Street near 8th Avenue, at the same location where the Spiegelworld tent show “Empire” ran last year. A 14-week run of “The Great Comet” will begin on Sept. 24, its producers announced on Tuesday; the show’s downtown run concluded on Monday night.

Mindful that the Spiegelworld tent drew a picket line for its lack of union employees, the “Comet” producers - who used non-union musicians and waiters in the meatpacking district - are altering the audience experience in ways that may raise production costs but avoid a labor protest.

The major change involves food: The tent is styled like a Russian supper club, but the plentiful dinner of seafood and chicken - which had been included in the ticket prices, ranging from $125 to $237.50 - will be dropped in the theater district to save money. Ticket prices will remain the same; nibbles like pierogis will still be provided, as will the show’s lucrative vodka, champagne and other alcohol sales.

“Our audience surveys and phone surveys showed that people didn’t really value the meals, and at each ticket price level, people said they would’ve still bought tickets without the meals,” Howard Kagan, one of the lead producers of the show, said in an interview on Tuesday. “So we’ll save some money on that, while probably spending elsewhere.”

Costs are likely to go up for the musicians and perhaps crew members for the show, Mr. Kagan said, as a result of negotiations that he said he is having with theatrical unions. While Broadway theaters have fixed labor costs, Mr. Kagan’s 200-seat pop-up tent is not required to have the same union contracts. But union leaders say they want them regardless, to protect their members in “The Great Comet.”

“I haven’t heard from these producers yet about the new run, which is frustrating because we never got an agreement with them downtown,” said Tino Gagliardi, the president of Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians. “There have been musicians in that show who weren’t getting benefits. We’re flexible, but we expect better coverage for our musicians.”

James J. Claffey Jr., the president of Local 1 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, did not immediately return a phone message on Tuesday.

Mr. Kagan said that “The Great Comet” steadily made money downtown but has not recouped its original $2.5 million capitalization. He said the transfer to the theater district would cost in the low six figures.

He has also begun to look into a future run of the show at a Broadway theater or another space in the city. Before settling on the 45th Street lot, Mr. Kagan spoke to Broadway theater owners about possible vacancies, including at prime theaters like the St. James, but none were offering ideal timing or open-ended availability. But Mr. Kagan said he was still looking into Broadway, even though it would be an expensive proposition: The “Great Comet” producers want the show to remain an immersive, club-like experience, where audiences sit at cocktail tables and banquettes and the musical is performed around them, thereby necessitating the removal of rows of seats and a reconfiguration of the theater space.

“We want the show to continue as it is, and to continue after the new performances end on Dec. 31, and we’re looking at all possible options, including Broadway,” Mr. Kagan said. When asked about the Circle in the Square Theater, an in-the-round space where the critically drubbed “Soul Doctor” is now running, he added, “We love Circle in the Square, and it’s safe to say we would look closely at any space made available to us.” A Broadway theater is appealing to producers because shows in those houses are eligible for Tony Awards, and because the “Broadway musical” imprimatur is meaningful to some tourists and others.

Mr. Kagan said he hoped that the show’s current cast would continue with the show; casting will be announced shortly. The musical, which began at Ars Nova last fall, is written by Dave Malloy and directed by Rachel Chavkin.

London Production of ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ to Screened in Movie Theaters

An acclaimed London production of the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical “Merrily We Roll Along,” which Mr. Sondheim said was the best “Merrily” he had ever seen seen, will be screened in movie theaters in New York City and worldwide on Oct. 23, the producers and the film distributors announced on Tuesday.

The production received rave reviews last fall after opening at the Menier Chocolate Factory, then transferred to the West End, where the run ended in late July. Directed by the British actress Maria Friedman, a three-time winner of the Olivier Award (London’s equivalent of the Tony Award), “Merrily” starred several veterans of British theater including Jenna Russell, a Tony nominee for the 2008 Broadway run of “Sunday in the Park with George” - another production of a Sondheim musical that began at the Chocolate Factory.

Several Broadway producers went to London to see “Merrily,” and privately expressed high regard for it, but no plans have been announced to bring the show to Broadway.

The story of three close friends, “Merrily We Roll Along” is best known for its unusual narrative framework - the plot unfolds backwards, with the main characters first appearing on stage with their relationship in tatters, and their sharply observed falling-out is then told in reverse chronology over the prior 20 years. The original Broadway production opened in 1981 to mixed reviews and closed quickly; the show has since been revised but has yet to return to Broadway.

Mr. Sondheim, in a statement accompanying Tuesday’s news release about the broadcast, said, “This production of ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ is not only the best I’ve seen, but one of those rare instances where casting, direction and show come together in perfect combination, resulting in the classic ideal of the sum being greater than the parts.”

The “Merrily” broadcast will be the first to be distributed in the United States as part of a new partnership by the companies CinemaLive and Digital Theater to bring West End theater productions to movie theaters; Britain’s National Theater has been doing the same with its productions in recent years with its popular NT Live film series. “Merrily” will play at the Union Square Stadium 14 theater in Manhattan as well as in the New York suburbs, and in major cities across the United States. Tickets for the United States screenings will go on sale on Sept. 13 at www.fathomevents.com.

London Production of ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ to Screened in Movie Theaters

An acclaimed London production of the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical “Merrily We Roll Along,” which Mr. Sondheim said was the best “Merrily” he had ever seen seen, will be screened in movie theaters in New York City and worldwide on Oct. 23, the producers and the film distributors announced on Tuesday.

The production received rave reviews last fall after opening at the Menier Chocolate Factory, then transferred to the West End, where the run ended in late July. Directed by the British actress Maria Friedman, a three-time winner of the Olivier Award (London’s equivalent of the Tony Award), “Merrily” starred several veterans of British theater including Jenna Russell, a Tony nominee for the 2008 Broadway run of “Sunday in the Park with George” - another production of a Sondheim musical that began at the Chocolate Factory.

Several Broadway producers went to London to see “Merrily,” and privately expressed high regard for it, but no plans have been announced to bring the show to Broadway.

The story of three close friends, “Merrily We Roll Along” is best known for its unusual narrative framework - the plot unfolds backwards, with the main characters first appearing on stage with their relationship in tatters, and their sharply observed falling-out is then told in reverse chronology over the prior 20 years. The original Broadway production opened in 1981 to mixed reviews and closed quickly; the show has since been revised but has yet to return to Broadway.

Mr. Sondheim, in a statement accompanying Tuesday’s news release about the broadcast, said, “This production of ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ is not only the best I’ve seen, but one of those rare instances where casting, direction and show come together in perfect combination, resulting in the classic ideal of the sum being greater than the parts.”

The “Merrily” broadcast will be the first to be distributed in the United States as part of a new partnership by the companies CinemaLive and Digital Theater to bring West End theater productions to movie theaters; Britain’s National Theater has been doing the same with its productions in recent years with its popular NT Live film series. “Merrily” will play at the Union Square Stadium 14 theater in Manhattan as well as in the New York suburbs, and in major cities across the United States. Tickets for the United States screenings will go on sale on Sept. 13 at www.fathomevents.com.

LeBron James Developing TV Series for Starz

Mike Segar/Reuters LeBron James

Having fulfilled his goal of winning an NBA championship a couple of times over, LeBron James is taking his talents to cable television. The Starz cable channel said on Tuesday â€" not in an hourlong TV special, but in a news release â€" that it was working with Mr. James, the Miami Heat forward and four-time NBA most valuable player, to develop a half-hour comedy series called “Survivor’s Remorse.” This series, Starz said, will “explore the complexity, comedy and drama of an experience that everyone reads about, but few understand - what truly happens when you make it out.” The network said this scripted series will chronicle two fictional cousins who grew up in a tough Philadelphia neighborhood and, having since achieved fame and fortune, now struggle “with the rewards of money, stardom, love and, occasionally, the guilt of having ‘madeit.’”

“Survivor’s Remorse,” which is still in development and has not yet been ordered as a series, will be produced by Mr. James and Maverick Carter, his childhood friend and business manager; as well as Tom Werner, the “Cosby Show” producer turned chairman of the Boston Red Sox; and Mike O’Malley, the comic actor who has appeared on  “Glee” and “Justified.”

Mr. James said in a statement that “Survivor’s Remorse” would offer “a story that needed to be told.” Among his favorite shows, he cited “Boardwalk Empire,” “24,” “Scandal” and “Magic City,” a Starz series that ended this summer.

Sept. 3: 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.

Joseph Burgess and Nicholas Wells 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

Lhota

Liu

Quinn

Thompson

Weiner

Group event

Bill de Blasio
Democrat

7 p.m.
Participates in the second, and final, official debate of the Democratic primary, organized by the N.Y.C. Campaign Finance Board, broadcast live on NBC, Telemundo Nueva York and WOR-AM (770).

John C. Liu
Democrat

7 a.m.
Greets morning commuters at the Third Avenue subway station on East 149th Street in the South Bronx.

10:45 a.m.
Visits with senior citizens at the Presbyterian Senior Services’ Andrew Jackson Center on East 156th Street in the Bronx.

11:15 a.m.
Visits his second senior center of the day, the Washington Senior Center on Broadway, in Upper Manhattan.

11:30 a.m.
Stops by the third senior center of his day, the Fort Washington Senior Center, in Upper Manhattan.

12 p.m.
Visits his fourth senior center of the day, the Mary McLeod Bethune Senior Center in Upper Manhattan.

1:30 p.m.
Joins supporters at a “Green Rally for Liu,” organized by the Sierra Club and other local activists, outside City Hall.

7 p.m.
Participates in the second, and final, official debate of the Democratic primary, organized by the N.Y.C. Campaign Finance Board, broadcast live on NBC, Telemundo Nueva York and WOR-AM (770).

9:30 p.m.
Attends the Staten Island Democratic Association’s annual banquet at the Crystal Room on Olympia Boulevard in Staten Island. The political club endorsed Mr. Liu in June.

Joseph J. Lhota
Republican

7:30 a.m.
Greets commuters at the Staten Island Ferry’s Whitehall Terminal during the morning rush, in downtown Manhattan.

5:30 p.m.
Greets commuters during the evening rush at the subway stop at 86th Street and Lexington Avenue.

7 p.m.
Attends a community meeting of the Pledge 2 Protect, which has been rallying opposition to the city’s proposed waste-disposal site in Yorkville. Mr. Lhota expressed support for the group’s goals by signing the group’s pledge in May. Meeting takes place at the Chapin School on the Upper East Side.

8:15 p.m.
Meets with the Queens Village Republican Club at the Trattoria Lucia Italian Restaurant in Bellerose, Queens.

Christine C. Quinn
Democrat

7:45 a.m.
Visits with Teamsters working at United Parcel Service, along with the Teamster Joint Council president, George Miranda, whose council endorsed Ms. Quinn back in June, at the shipper’s facility in Hell’s Kitchen.

10:30 a.m.
Holds news conference to address The Daily News’s report that her mayoral rival Bill de Blasio has accepted more than $50,000 in campaign donations from affiliates of landlords whose practices had landed them on the public advocate’s “Worst Landlord Watch List.” Event taking place at 1990 Lexington Avenue in Harlem.

7 p.m.
Participates in the second, and final, official debate of the Democratic primary, organized by the N.Y.C. Campaign Finance Board, broadcast live on NBC, Telemundo Nueva York and WOR-AM (770).

Some of Ms. Quinn’s events may not be shown because the campaign declines to release her advance schedule for publication.

William C. Thompson Jr.
Democrat

7:30 a.m.
Visits teachers going back to school at the first of two schools in Queens, accompanied by Congressman Gregory Meeks and top union leaders, Randi Weingarten and Michael Mulgrew, at P.S. 65 on Rockaway Boulevard.

8:10 a.m.
Visits teachers going back to school at a second school in Queens, accompanied by Congressman Gregory Meeks and top union leaders, Randi Weingarten and Michael Mulgrew, at John Adams High School on Rockaway Boulevard.

9:15 a.m.
Tours devastated Rockaway communities with Congressman Gregory Meeks and representatives of first responders, including Steve Cassidy, the president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, and Izzy Miranda, the president of the Uniformed EMTs and Paramedics. Tour begins at Fire Department Engine 268/Ladder 137 Company in Rockaway.

10:30 a.m.
After accepting the endorsement of some Queens clergy, Mr. Thompson calls for ending the prosecution of New York City teenagers as adults and the expansion of the city’s summer jobs program in a news conference together with Congressman Gregory Meeks and the Rev. Floyd Flake of the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral in Queens. Event takes place at the Robert Ross Family Life Center, on Linden Boulevard in Queens.

10:30 a.m.
Announces endorsement of Queens clergy at news conference, joined by Congressman Gregory Meeks and the Rev. Floyd Flake of the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral in Queens. Event takes place at the Robert Ross Family Life Center, on Linden Boulevard in Queens.

11:45 a.m.
Visits with senior citizens, together with Congressman Gregory Meeks, at the Theodora G. Jackson Senior Center in Jamaica, Queens.

1:30 p.m.
Greets shoppers preparing for Rosh Hashanah at Seasons Supermarket in the Flushing section of Queens.

7 p.m.
Participates in the second, and final, official debate of the Democratic primary, organized by the N.Y.C. Campaign Finance Board, broadcast live on NBC, Telemundo Nueva York and WOR-AM (770).

Anthony D. Weiner
Democrat

11:30 a.m.
Greets senior citizens at the Jay-Harama Neighborhood Senior Center on Ocean Avenue in Brooklyn.

12 p.m.
Greets senior citizens at Jewish Association Serving the Aging’s Brighton/Manhattan Beach Senior Center on West End Avenue in Brooklyn.

7 p.m.
Participates in the second, and final, official debate of the Democratic primary, organized by the N.Y.C. Campaign Finance Board, broadcast live on NBC, Telemundo Nueva York and WOR-AM (770).

Sal F. Albanese
Democrat

10:30 a.m.
Meets and greets senior citizens at the Riverdale YM-YWHA on Arlington Avenue in the Bronx.

7 p.m.
Live-tweets his thoughts and responses on the Democratic debate, which has barred candidates who have not spent more than $1 million, like Mr. Albanese, from participating. Candidate’s remarks posted on @SalAlbanese2013.

8:30 p.m.
Greets shoppers preparing for Rosh Hashanah at Pomegranate Supermarket on Coney Island Avenue in the Midwood section of Brooklyn.

9:30 p.m.
Stops at his second grocery store of the day, to greet shoppers preparing for Rosh Hashanah, at the Chestnut Supermarket in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

George T. McDonald
Republican

5 p.m.
Greets evening commuters at the 86th Street subway station, on the Upper East Side.

7:15 p.m.
Attends a community meeting of the Pledge 2 Protect, which has been rallying opposition to the city’s proposed waste-disposal site in Yorkville. Mr. McDonald expressed support for the group’s goals by signing the group’s pledge. Meeting takes place at the Chapin School on the Upper East Side.

Erick J. Salgado
Democrat

6 p.m.
Campaigns through the neighborhoods of Brooklyn from the bed of a pickup truck, including Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Midwood and Flatbush.

Sept. 3: 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.

Joseph Burgess and Nicholas Wells 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

Lhota

Liu

Quinn

Thompson

Weiner

Group event

Bill de Blasio
Democrat

7 p.m.
Participates in the second, and final, official debate of the Democratic primary, organized by the N.Y.C. Campaign Finance Board, broadcast live on NBC, Telemundo Nueva York and WOR-AM (770).

John C. Liu
Democrat

7 a.m.
Greets morning commuters at the Third Avenue subway station on East 149th Street in the South Bronx.

10:45 a.m.
Visits with senior citizens at the Presbyterian Senior Services’ Andrew Jackson Center on East 156th Street in the Bronx.

11:15 a.m.
Visits his second senior center of the day, the Washington Senior Center on Broadway, in Upper Manhattan.

11:30 a.m.
Stops by the third senior center of his day, the Fort Washington Senior Center, in Upper Manhattan.

12 p.m.
Visits his fourth senior center of the day, the Mary McLeod Bethune Senior Center in Upper Manhattan.

1:30 p.m.
Joins supporters at a “Green Rally for Liu,” organized by the Sierra Club and other local activists, outside City Hall.

7 p.m.
Participates in the second, and final, official debate of the Democratic primary, organized by the N.Y.C. Campaign Finance Board, broadcast live on NBC, Telemundo Nueva York and WOR-AM (770).

9:30 p.m.
Attends the Staten Island Democratic Association’s annual banquet at the Crystal Room on Olympia Boulevard in Staten Island. The political club endorsed Mr. Liu in June.

Joseph J. Lhota
Republican

7:30 a.m.
Greets commuters at the Staten Island Ferry’s Whitehall Terminal during the morning rush, in downtown Manhattan.

5:30 p.m.
Greets commuters during the evening rush at the subway stop at 86th Street and Lexington Avenue.

7 p.m.
Attends a community meeting of the Pledge 2 Protect, which has been rallying opposition to the city’s proposed waste-disposal site in Yorkville. Mr. Lhota expressed support for the group’s goals by signing the group’s pledge in May. Meeting takes place at the Chapin School on the Upper East Side.

8:15 p.m.
Meets with the Queens Village Republican Club at the Trattoria Lucia Italian Restaurant in Bellerose, Queens.

Christine C. Quinn
Democrat

7:45 a.m.
Visits with Teamsters working at United Parcel Service, along with the Teamster Joint Council president, George Miranda, whose council endorsed Ms. Quinn back in June, at the shipper’s facility in Hell’s Kitchen.

10:30 a.m.
Holds news conference to address The Daily News’s report that her mayoral rival Bill de Blasio has accepted more than $50,000 in campaign donations from affiliates of landlords whose practices had landed them on the public advocate’s “Worst Landlord Watch List.” Event taking place at 1990 Lexington Avenue in Harlem.

7 p.m.
Participates in the second, and final, official debate of the Democratic primary, organized by the N.Y.C. Campaign Finance Board, broadcast live on NBC, Telemundo Nueva York and WOR-AM (770).

Some of Ms. Quinn’s events may not be shown because the campaign declines to release her advance schedule for publication.

William C. Thompson Jr.
Democrat

7:30 a.m.
Visits teachers going back to school at the first of two schools in Queens, accompanied by Congressman Gregory Meeks and top union leaders, Randi Weingarten and Michael Mulgrew, at P.S. 65 on Rockaway Boulevard.

8:10 a.m.
Visits teachers going back to school at a second school in Queens, accompanied by Congressman Gregory Meeks and top union leaders, Randi Weingarten and Michael Mulgrew, at John Adams High School on Rockaway Boulevard.

9:15 a.m.
Tours devastated Rockaway communities with Congressman Gregory Meeks and representatives of first responders, including Steve Cassidy, the president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, and Izzy Miranda, the president of the Uniformed EMTs and Paramedics. Tour begins at Fire Department Engine 268/Ladder 137 Company in Rockaway.

10:30 a.m.
After accepting the endorsement of some Queens clergy, Mr. Thompson calls for ending the prosecution of New York City teenagers as adults and the expansion of the city’s summer jobs program in a news conference together with Congressman Gregory Meeks and the Rev. Floyd Flake of the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral in Queens. Event takes place at the Robert Ross Family Life Center, on Linden Boulevard in Queens.

10:30 a.m.
Announces endorsement of Queens clergy at news conference, joined by Congressman Gregory Meeks and the Rev. Floyd Flake of the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral in Queens. Event takes place at the Robert Ross Family Life Center, on Linden Boulevard in Queens.

11:45 a.m.
Visits with senior citizens, together with Congressman Gregory Meeks, at the Theodora G. Jackson Senior Center in Jamaica, Queens.

1:30 p.m.
Greets shoppers preparing for Rosh Hashanah at Seasons Supermarket in the Flushing section of Queens.

7 p.m.
Participates in the second, and final, official debate of the Democratic primary, organized by the N.Y.C. Campaign Finance Board, broadcast live on NBC, Telemundo Nueva York and WOR-AM (770).

Anthony D. Weiner
Democrat

11:30 a.m.
Greets senior citizens at the Jay-Harama Neighborhood Senior Center on Ocean Avenue in Brooklyn.

12 p.m.
Greets senior citizens at Jewish Association Serving the Aging’s Brighton/Manhattan Beach Senior Center on West End Avenue in Brooklyn.

7 p.m.
Participates in the second, and final, official debate of the Democratic primary, organized by the N.Y.C. Campaign Finance Board, broadcast live on NBC, Telemundo Nueva York and WOR-AM (770).

Sal F. Albanese
Democrat

10:30 a.m.
Meets and greets senior citizens at the Riverdale YM-YWHA on Arlington Avenue in the Bronx.

7 p.m.
Live-tweets his thoughts and responses on the Democratic debate, which has barred candidates who have not spent more than $1 million, like Mr. Albanese, from participating. Candidate’s remarks posted on @SalAlbanese2013.

8:30 p.m.
Greets shoppers preparing for Rosh Hashanah at Pomegranate Supermarket on Coney Island Avenue in the Midwood section of Brooklyn.

9:30 p.m.
Stops at his second grocery store of the day, to greet shoppers preparing for Rosh Hashanah, at the Chestnut Supermarket in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

George T. McDonald
Republican

5 p.m.
Greets evening commuters at the 86th Street subway station, on the Upper East Side.

7:15 p.m.
Attends a community meeting of the Pledge 2 Protect, which has been rallying opposition to the city’s proposed waste-disposal site in Yorkville. Mr. McDonald expressed support for the group’s goals by signing the group’s pledge. Meeting takes place at the Chapin School on the Upper East Side.

Erick J. Salgado
Democrat

6 p.m.
Campaigns through the neighborhoods of Brooklyn from the bed of a pickup truck, including Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Midwood and Flatbush.

What Does a Democrat Look Like?

Dear Diary:

You are sitting in Bryant Park eating your salad alone. You have a beautiful view: trees and buildings and, in the distance, the twinkling yellow lights of the carousel, even though it is only early afternoon.

A boy is walking around, holding a clipboard and pen, trying to get signatures for the coming mayoral election. He stops the man sitting next to you. He gives a spiel. He asks the man next to you whether he would support this candidate.

“Ask her,” the man sitting next to you says.

The man turns to you and says, “You look like a Democrat.”

You are not sure what makes you look like a Democrat.

Your denim jacket?

Your black hair?

Your salad?

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.

In Performance: Jon Norman Schneider of ‘Awake and Sing!’

In the National Asian American Theater Company revival of Clifford Odets’s “Awake and Sing!,” Jon Norman Schneider plays Ralph Berger, the young brother in the Jewish family at the heart of the 1935 drama, set in the Depression-era Bronx. In this scene, Ralph considers his options for the future. The show continues through Sunday at Walkerspace.

Recent videos in this series include Sarah Lemp in a scene from the Amoralists’ production of “The Cheaters Club,” a new play by Derek Ahonen at the Abrons Arts Center, and Eric Anderson and Amber Iman performing the number “Always With You” from the Broadway musical “Soul Doctor,” at Circle in the Square.

Coming soon: Hallie Foote in a scene from “The Old Friends,” written by her father, the playwright Horton Foote, who died in 2009.

In Performance: Jon Norman Schneider of ‘Awake and Sing!’

In the National Asian American Theater Company revival of Clifford Odets’s “Awake and Sing!,” Jon Norman Schneider plays Ralph Berger, the young brother in the Jewish family at the heart of the 1935 drama, set in the Depression-era Bronx. In this scene, Ralph considers his options for the future. The show continues through Sunday at Walkerspace.

Recent videos in this series include Sarah Lemp in a scene from the Amoralists’ production of “The Cheaters Club,” a new play by Derek Ahonen at the Abrons Arts Center, and Eric Anderson and Amber Iman performing the number “Always With You” from the Broadway musical “Soul Doctor,” at Circle in the Square.

Coming soon: Hallie Foote in a scene from “The Old Friends,” written by her father, the playwright Horton Foote, who died in 2009.

New York Today: Final Showdown

Ruth Fremson/The New York Times debate caption TK

When the Democratic candidates face off tonight for their last mayoral debate, the rules for the primary will play an outsize role.

If no candidate gets more than 40 percent in next Tuesday’s balloting, then there is a runoff between the top two.

Michael Barbaro, a political reporter for The New York Times, told us that Christine C. Quinn and William C. Thompson Jr., who polls show are vying for second place, are trying to eliminate each other.

But there’s a catch: they both need voters supporting the front-runner, Bill de Blasio.

“Quinn needs the white liberal voters that de Blasio is performing very well with,” Mr. Barbaro said. “Thompson needs the black voters that de Blasio has captivated. So both of them will punch up rather than punch each other.”

For Mr. de Blasio’s part, Mr. Barbaro said, “It’s going to be a really rough night for him. He has to figure out how to stay classy, stick to his message, seem unruffled.”

The debate, at 7:30 p.m., will be on WNBC-TV and WOR-AM (710) radio, and streamed live at the Web sites of WNBC-TV and The Wall Street Journal.

Here’s what else you need to know as you head back to work on Tuesday.

WEATHER

A mixed, muggy bag â€" morning fog, then partly sunny, but with scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and a high of 83.

After this cold front moves through it should be dryer and cooler tonight, but bring the umbrella today, and maybe a towel.

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 in effect.

COMING UP TODAY

- New York City’s public schoolteachers (but not students) go back to school.

- Anthony D. Weiner visits senior centers in Brooklyn. Mr. Thompson calls for an end to prosecuting teenagers as adults, then tours the Rockaways. John C. Liu attends a Sierra Club rally in his honor outside City Hall.

- While the Democrats debate, Joseph J. Lhota, a Republican, attends a meeting of opponents of a proposed Upper East Side trash transfer station.

- In the comptroller’s race, Scott M. Stringer knocks on doors in Ridgewood, Queens and greets shoppers at a kosher supermarket in Borough Park, Brooklyn.

- A rally against American military action in Syria outside the State Office Building on 125th Street in Harlem at 4:30 p.m.

- Another rally, outside the Russian consulate on the Upper East Side at 6:30 p.m., against Russia’s anti-gay law.

- Livery-cab drivers will protest the policies of the Taxi and Limousine Commission outside its headquarters.

- Opening of a new public library building in Glen Oaks, Queens.

- The New York Cosmos offers soccer clinics in Queens for school children. [Free]

- The Urban Park Rangers present the “Alley Pond Park Adventure Course” in Queens. 10 a.m. [Free]

- Two reporters, Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman, talk about their new book “Enemies Within: Inside the N.Y.P.D.’s Secret Spying Unit” at BookCourt on Court Street in Brooklyn. 7 p.m. [Free]

- The Brooklyn Botanic Garden has free admission on Tuesdays. [Free]

IN THE NEWS

- The contract dispute that blacked out CBS on Time Warner Cable has ended. [New York Times]

- A federal jury in Manhattan awarded $250,000 to a black employment-agency worker whose black boss addressed her with a common racial slur. The boss had argued that use of the word by blacks is acceptable. [Associated Press]

- The mayoral candidates’ criticism of the real estate industry has not stopped them from accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars of donations from it. [New York Times]

- After three weeks without gas service, public-housing tenants in East Harlem have begun a rent strike. [Daily News]

- The search for suspects in the fatal shooting of a 1-year-old Brooklyn toddler is not being helped by the boy’s tight-lipped father, the police say. [New York Times]

- The number of people caught sneaking into city pools after hours this summer jumped 488 percent over last year. [Daily News]

AND FINALLY…

Male baseball fans over the age of 40 can get a little something extra at tonight’s Yankees-White Sox game at the stadium: a free prostate cancer screening.

Before and during the game, which begins at 7:05 p.m. doctors and nurses on the concourse behind home plate will offer blood tests and physical exams.

At last year’s screening, 305 men took the exam and 17 of them were found to have elevated levels of the antigen linked to prostate cancer.

Nicole Higgins DeSmet contributed reporting.

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

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