New York Today: The Nanny Van

Marisa JahnHonk if you care.

Updated 5:57 a.m.

Good morning on this gusty Thursday.

A local artist named Marisa Jahn bought a 1976 Chevy van on Craigslist last year for a couple of thousand dollars.

Today, it will begin touring the East Coast.

It’s the Nanny Van.

Project Nanny Van aims to teach domestic workers about their rights.

There are an estimated 200,000 domestic workers - nannies and housecleaners - working in the New York City metropolitan area.

Under a New York State law passed in 2010, these workers have rights and protections that few of them know about, Ms. Jahn said.

“Most of them work in isolation,” she said.

The van will be stationed outside parks, libraries and other spots frequented by domestic workers in the city starting next week: Flushing, Queens is their first stop.

It will distribute literature “with superhero Pop Art graphics with local flavor â€" one character wears a head wrap from Trinidad and Tobago,” Ms. Jahn said.

And a phone number.

Calling 347-WORK-500, domestic workers can listen to more than a dozen episodes about issues in domestic work, recorded by domestic workers, in English and Spanish.

Already, between 300 and 1,200 people call the line each month.

In one of Ms. Jahn’s favorite episodes, “there are two lungs, talking to the domestic worker,” she said.

One lungs says, in a deep voice, “You’ve got to stop using that harsh oven cleaner.”

The workers’ reaction?

“They think it’s hilarious,” she said.

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

WEATHER

Warm, windy and bone dry: there’s a brush-fire alert from 9 a.m. till 8 p.m.

High of 64 degrees, gusts up to 38 miles an hour.

Bring sunblock and windbreaker, leave matches home.

COMMUTE

Subways: Check latest status.

Rails: Check L.I.R.R., Metro-North or N.J. Transit status.

Roads: Check traffic map or radio report on the 1s or the 8s.

Alternate-side parking is in effect through Friday.

COMING UP TODAY

- It’s Tech Day, “the largest single-day start-up event in the world,” at Pier 92. Elected officials will hand out awards to city start-ups. 9 a.m.

- A display for Holocaust Remembrance Day opens at the New York Public Library. 10 a.m.

- Tavern on the Green reopens in Central Park. 11 a.m.

- It’s “Poem in Your Pocket Day.” Students recite poems, accompanied by a band called Humani and The Peace Poets, at Bryant Park. 11 a.m.

- Postal workers march outside the main post office on Eighth Avenue to protest a partnership allowing Staples to offer postal services. 11 a.m.

- Animal rights activists protest at the site of a recent horse carriage accident, across from the Plaza Hotel. 1 p.m.

- Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña speaks at Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s Overcrowding Task Force across from City Hall. 4 p.m.

- Parents and teachers demand an end to high-stakes testing outside the city’s Department of Education. 4 p.m.

- The mayor and the first lady attend the premiere of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2″ at the Ziegfield Theater this evening

- Henry Kissinger and Rabbi Peter J. Rubinstein discuss the Middle East at the Central Synagogue on the Upper East Side. 6:30 p.m. [live webcast]

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

Kenneth Rosen contributed reporting.

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