Paying at the Guggenheim

Dear Diary:

As a former Guggenheim member, I already feel guilty about going on the one “free” night, but leaner times have made for museum budgeting. I do not want to miss James Turrell’s meditative light transformation of Wright’s space. When I finally get to the front of a line that started two blocks away on Madison Avenue, I encounter a perfectly coifed, silk-scarved museum employee.

She: “Your payment, please.”
Me: “I thought it was ‘Pay what you wish’ night.”
She: “Yes.”
Me (in a hush): “I wish to pay nothing.”
She (loudly): “That is not an option. You have to pay something.”
Me (searching my pockets and purse): “I don’t think I have any money on me, but I just waited two hours in a long, long line.”
She: “You still have to pay something. That is the rule.”
Me: “But it is ‘Pay what you wish.’ What if you wish to pay nothing?”
She: “Don’t you even have a quarter or anything?”
Me: “No, I don’t have a cent on me.”
She: “Well, then you can’t enter. You will have to leave.”

I look around, hoping someone will offer me a dime, but at the same time praying no one overheard this exchange. I consider asking her for a penny, but feel humiliated enough. I dump the contents of my bag on the counter. I root around again in all my pockets. In the bowels of my purse, I find a nickel.

Me (triumphantly): “Here!”

She silently hands me a ticket. I stay until closing.

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New York Today: Alive and Voting

Left, Uli Seit for The New York Times; right, Michael Appleton for The New York Times The next public advocate (most likely): Letitia James and Daniel Squadron are in a runoff for the Democratic nomination.

The federal government may be closed, but local government is very much alive this morning. Polls are open in the Democratic runoff for public advocate, the official watchdog of other city agencies.

The race is between City Councilwoman Letitia James and State Senator Daniel L. Squadron.

We asked them for one concrete thing they’d do if they won the job in November.

Ms. James would begin a program to “help parents access the Department of Education maze, and make sure the needs of parents and students are always prioritized over the D.O.E.”

Mr. Squadron would start “an initiative to protect children at risk of abuse, hunger and neglect by breaking down bureaucratic walls between city agencies â€" so we can save kids’ lives.”

A past public advocate, Betsy Gotbaum, called the office “the place where people can turn when they have no place else to turn, when they have problems with government, with agencies and bureaucracy.”

Polls are open till 9 p.m. Only registered Democrats can vote today.

To find your polling place, go to nyc.pollsitelocator.com or call 866-VOTE-NYC (212-868-3692).

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

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Federal District Courts and post offices are open.

The Statue of Liberty and all federal parks are closed.

Social Security checks will be processed, but field offices will offer only limited services.

Veterans Affairs medical facilities are operating, but some services are limited.

WEATHER

More perfect voting weather: sunny and quite warm, with a high of 80.

COMMUTE

Subways: O.K. so far. Click for latest status.

PATH: Starting today, the PATH fare is $2.50, up from $2.25.

Rails: Metro-North’s New Haven line is running at only 50 percent capacity while a power problem gets repaired. See advisory, schedule and map of temporary park-and-ride lots at other stations.

Roads: No major delays. Click for traffic map or radio report on the 1s. Alternate-side parking is in effect all week.

COMING UP TODAY

- Enrollment is open for insurance under the Affordable Care Act. See the state Web site and this primer.

- On the campaign trail for mayor, Bill de Blasio is on 1010-WINS at 7:30 a.m. Joseph J. Lhota tours Yeshiva University.

- Supporters of Alex Rodriguez protest his steroid-related suspension outside Major League Baseball headquarters on Park Avenue at 10 a.m.

- The M.T.A. meets to consider refunds for commuters on the hobbled Metro-North New Haven line. 3:30 p.m. at 347 Madison Avenue.

- The permanent TKTS booth (it sells discount theater tickets) at South Street Seaport, damaged by Hurricane Sandy, reopens at 11 a.m.

- “Shelf Life,” a series of readings by nonfiction authors, makes its debut at Hullaballoo Books in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. 7 p.m. [Free]

- “Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here,” a poetry reading and discussion about Baghdad’s ancient literary district, which was destroyed in 2007, at Poets House, downtown. 7 p.m. [$10]

- The 1980 killing of a violinist during intermission of a Metropolitan Opera House performance, known as the “Murder at the Met,” is the focus of tonight’s “Motives and Murders” on the Investigation Discovery channel. 8 p.m.

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

Joseph Burgess contributed reporting.

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

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