The Ad Campaign: De Blasio’s Tone Poem to a Diverse City

First aired: October 30, 2013

Produced by: Acres and Co. and AKPD Message and Media

For: Bill de Blasio

Bill de Blasio, the Democratic nominee for mayor, on Wednesday released his latest television ad. Titled “Our City,” the 30-second commercial is running on broadcast and cable channels across New York City.

Fact-Check

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“This is our city. A city that understands that greatness is not measured by the height of our skyscrapers, but by the strength of our neighborhoods…”

Nothing in this ad is inaccurate. It is more of an expression of hope than a polemical packed with facts or accusations. Besides, how can one prove whether Mr. de Blasio actually understands what is best for people in Soundview, on the Lower East Side, or anywhere else?

Scorecard

This ad was already available online, so there is no element of surprise, with Election Day just under a week away. But barring something cataclysmic, the ad is likely to be the last one that voters will see from Mr. de Blasio, who is the overwhelming favorite against his Republican opponent, Joseph J. Lhota.

So perhaps it is appropriate that in a campaign anchored by the “Tale of Two Cities” slogan, his closing argument is essentially a tone poem to a city of incredible diversity, filled with regular people, some hopeful, others determined, going about their everyday lives.

It is striking that Mr. de Blasio does not appear or say anything in the ad. Nor does his family, even though they have been central to his campaign. The only hint that it is a campaign ad, before the reminder that supporters should vote next Tuesday, is the small print noting the addresses of Mr. de Blasio’s website and Twitter feed.

But the imagery and tone are unmistakable here, in what could almost double as the first draft of an inaugural address: The candidate is, in effect, saying, “I am Bill de Blasio, and I want to be an inspiring and inclusive leader for all New Yorkers.”

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New York Today: Fall Colors

Marilynn K. Yee/The New York Times No need to leave the city to peep leaves. This is Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan.

Updated 6:06 a.m. | Foliage season in the Catskills has come and gone. Vermont maples are brown or bare.

But you’re in luck: New York City’s leaf-peeping season is hitting its peak.

This weekend should be the most colorful of the year in much of the city, said Tim Wenskus, a natural resource manager with the city parks department.

One of his favorite spots is the Aqueduct Trail in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.

“You have a little bit of topography, where you can get something close to a vista,” Mr. Wenskus said.

New York City is big enough and varied enough that a place like Alley Pond Park in Queens might peak a week after Van Cortlandt.

At High Rock Park on Staten Island, Mr. Wenskus said, early-turning ash and elm are being joined by the yellows of persimmon and tulip tree, orange-tipped oak and the deep blood-scarlet of red maple

But with 2.5 million trees on public land in the city, you probably have your own favorite.

Tell us: Where do you go in this town to see the leaves turn?

Here’s what you need to know for Wednesday.

WEATHER

Eh. Just a cloudy day with a high of 60. Clearer tonight, but Halloween might be drippy.

COMMUTE

Subways: No delays. Click for latest status.

Rails: Fine so far. Click for L.I.R.R., Metro-North or New Jersey Transit status.

Roads: No major delays. Click for traffic map or radio report on the 1s.

Alternate-side parking is in effect today and tomorrow but suspended Friday.

COMING UP TODAY

- The final mayoral debate between Bill de Blasio and Joseph J. Lhota, at 7 p.m. Watch on WNBC-TV. Listen on WOR-AM 710.

- Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway speak at a panel, “The Measured City: Using Data to Improve New York City Government” at New York University this morning.

- The New York Review of Books presents a two-day conference on privacy and the Internet, at the Scandinavia House on Park Avenue. [Free, registration required]

- It’s Mexican Day of the Dead. Build an altar, learn how to make a sugar figurine and dance, at a daylong celebration in East Harlem. 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. [Free, though you can buy food]

- The citywide architecture festival Archtober is almost over. Tour the building of the day, the Queens Central Library. 1:30 p.m. [Free, click to register]

- That’s no pumpkin, it’s a basketball. The Knicks open at home against the Bucks. The Nets start the year in Cleveland.

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

IN THE NEWS

- The former of home of a company in Ridgewood, Queens, that sold radioactive material for atomic bombs may become the city’s next Superfund site. [New York Times]

- A rabbi at a youth center in Beverly Hills was arrested on charges that he sexually abused boys as a youth worker in Brooklyn in the 1990s. [KABC]

- A City Council measure to raise the age for buying cigarettes to 21 now covers e-cigarettes, too. [Daily News]

Scoreboard: Rangers beat Islanders, 3-2. Devils beat Lightning, 2-1.

Joseph Burgess contributed reporting.

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

What would you like to see here to start your day? Post a comment, email us at nytoday@nytimes.com or reach us via Twitter using #NYToday.

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