A View of the Empire State Building Seen Anew

Ruby Washington/The New York Times

Dear Diary:

Walking up Macdougal Street, just before Waverly Place, I overheard this conversation between an older couple strolling just behind me:

“Well I’ll be …” said the woman, her voice trailing off, flecked with wonder.

“Would you take a look at that!” marveled the man.

Glancing up and taking in the view of the Empire State Building peeking above Eighth Street, its halo lit all in white, I knew what they were goggling at. The roof of the skyscraper â€" with its pointy antennas â€" is an unexpected sight from the base of Washington Square Park.

Tourists, I thought to myself, slowing down my pace on the quiet Village street, trying to detect an accent.

“In all my years of living here,” the man said to his companion, “I’ve never once noticed that.”

And just like that, the surprise was on me.

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New York Today: Coat Shortage

Victor J. Blue for The New York Times At the warehouse, donations are relatively sparse.

Good morning on this chilly Wednesday. As you get your coat, grab an extra: the city’s big coat drive is hurting for donations, and demand is high.

New York Cares hopes to collect 100,000 coats this winter.

But so far, just 8,500 have been donated.

“The need is real,” said the organization’s director, Gary Bagley. “We’ve gotten more than 97,000 requests already.”

The coats are stored in a basement on West 31st Street in Manhattan, then distributed.

But on Tuesday, the basement was pretty bare.

Last year, after Hurricane Sandy, a record 123,000 coats were piled here.

The coats covered an area the size of two basketball courts.

But even compared to an average year, donations are down this year, by 25 percent.

Organizers speculate that people are not donating because the weather until recently has been relatively mild.

It could also be an absence of subway ads. This year, the M.T.A. couldn’t provide the space.

But now you know.

Commuters: drop new or gently used coats (men’s large are needed most) at Grand Central Terminal, Penn Station, Atlantic Terminal or Jamaica Station on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.

You may also visit your local police precinct, open 24 hours, or enter your address into this map to find a drop spot close to you.

Here’s what else you need to know for Wednesday:

WEATHER

Brr! A high of only 31, with a west wind and a shortage of sunshine.

Down to 23 tonight. Daytime highs won’t get above freezing till Saturday.

COMMUTE

Subways: Only very limited 7 service in Queens, though there are shuttle buses. Check latest status.

Rails: Check L.I.R.R., Metro-North or New Jersey Transit status.

Roads: Watch out for ice. Check traffic map or radio report on the 1s.

Alternate-side parking is back in effect.

COMING UP TODAY

- State Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, outlines her proposal to legalize marijuana. City Hall steps at 11 a.m.

-  Unrelated: P.S. 84 in Williamsburg celebrates its status as the first school in North Brooklyn with a hydroponic greenhouse on the roof. 11 a.m.

- Mayor Bloomberg signs Nelson Mandela’s condolence book at the South African consulate at 11:30 a.m.

- Then religious leaders, South African diplomats, and former Mayor David N. Dinkins attend a Mandela memorial service at Riverside Church. 4:30 p.m. [Free, Livestream].

- Yet another tree lighting, this one at Washington Square Park. 6 p.m. [Free]

- Help remove invasive vines from a forest in the Bronx. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. [Free, register here]

- The New Yorker’s creative director explains the magazine’s recent redesign, and possibly ducks for cover, at Parsons. 6:30 p.m. [$30, Register here]

- The curator of “Light and Shadows: The Story of Iranian Jews” gives a tour of the exhibition at the Yeshiva University Museum. 6:30 p.m. [Free]

- Fatima Shama talks about running the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs at the Tenement Museum. 6:30 p.m. [Free, with Livestream]

- Nerd’s holiday: Star Wars Minute, a daily podcast dedicated to analyzing one minute of Star Wars, presents a live holiday special at the Parkside Lounge on the Lower East Side. 7 p.m. [Free, two drink minimum]

- “Murphy Brown” cast members reunite Wednesday night at the Museum of Modern Art for an untelevised event marking the 25th anniversary of the sitcom’s premiere. They talk to Katie Couric, exclusively, on Thursday.

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

IN THE NEWS

- Students as young as five were locked alone in a padded walk-in closet used as a “calm-down” room in a charter school in Washington Heights. One suffered a panic attack. [Daily News]

- Even though yesterday’s snowstorm was a bust, it still broke the record for the snowiest Dec. 10. [New York Times]

- More records: the city expects to draw an all-time high of 54 million tourists this year. [Crain's]

- The City Council approved a much-debated plan to turn the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx into the world’s largest indoor ice-sports center. [Capital New York]

- Scoreboard: Nets top Celtics, 104-96. Knicks lose to Cavs, 109-94. Islanders hook Sharks, 3-2 in overtime. Blue Jackets smother Devils, 5-4. Predators devour Rangers, 4-1.

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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