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It’s Friday.

Weather: Rain becomes heavy; the day starts in the 60s but cools quickly after midday. A mostly sunny weekend, with highs near 60.

Alternate-side parking: In effect until Nov. 1 (All Saints Day).

During the pandemic, business leaders in New York have been eager for one of their peers to run for mayor.

Now, one of the highest-ranking and longest-serving Black executives on Wall Street has thrown his hat in the ring.

On Thursday, that executive, Raymond J. McGuire, said he would be leaving his position as the vice chairman at Citigroup to join the growing field of candidates who are seeking the Democratic nomination next year. (City laws prevent Mayor Bil de Blasio from running for a third consecutive term in the November 2021 election.)

Mr. McGuire is well known in the financial world, but as political newcomer he will need to make inroads with voters, according to my colleague, Jeffery C. Mays, who covers local politics.

[Business leaders encouraged Mr. McGuire to seek the nomination, saying his background would help the city’s economic recovery.]

To learn more about Mr. McGuire’s bid and what to expect from the race, I spoke with my colleague Emma G. Fitzsimmons, our City Hall bureau chief. Our interview has been edited lightly for brevity and clarity.

Q: What are your thoughts on Mr. McGuire’s entry into the race?

A: He seems like a really interesting candidate and could speak to voters who want someone with business experience and who want to elect the second Black mayor in the city’s history.

After the Black Lives Matter protests this year, some Democrats believe the city doesn’t need another white man as mayor. But the progressive wing of the party also has a lot of power right now, and they might think Mr. McGuire is too conservative. They might be skeptical of him since he is an executive who has worked with big corporations.

Who are a couple of front-runners in the race, and what are their visions for New York City?

Two elected officials who are viewed as leading candidates are Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, and Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller.

Mr. Adams did a “back to work” subway ride this week to urge New Yorkers to return to the system, and he’s Black and a former police officer, so he talks a lot about criminal justice issues.

Mr. Stringer has been trying to establish himself as one of the most progressive candidates in the race, and he emphasizes his knowledge of fiscal matters.

(Corey Johnson, the City Council speaker, withdrew from the race last month.)

What issues do you expect the race to focus on?

The pandemic and the city’s economic crisis are likely to be the biggest issues. The Democratic primary is in June, and we’ll still be grappling with the coronavirus and its economic repercussions then.

But the candidates had their first mayoral forum this week, and they also spoke about police brutality, the power of real estate developers and even whether they smoke marijuana.

Most said they do not, but one candidate named Dianne Morales said she preferred marijuana edibles.

From The Times

After 700 Students Test Positive, a College President Resigns

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a Native Daughter of Brooklyn, to Get a Statue in Her Hometown

Inside N.Y.C.’s Insanely Loud Car Culture

This Elite School Is in a Brick Fortress. Can It Handle a Pandemic?

Want more news? Check out our full coverage.

The Mini Crossword: Here is today’s puzzle.

What we’re reading

A smaller version of the Queens Night Market Outpost has returned to Rockefeller Center. [Gothamist]

Climate activists halted work on a “fracked gas” pipeline in Brooklyn when they descended on a construction site and refused to leave. [New York Post]

A month after a mass shooting at a house party in Rochester, N.Y., few questions have been answered — including who the shooter was. [NBC New York]

And finally: Your virtual social weekend

The Times’s Melissa Guerrero writes:

Although many performance spaces and community centers are closed, people are finding creative ways to connect through virtual events and programs. Here are suggestions for maintaining a New York social life this weekend while keeping a safe distance from other people.

NYAFAIR the New York Art Fair

Stay indoors and tour this virtual fair. Daily from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. through the end of the year, the exhibition previews artists lined up for in-person fairs in 2021 and beyond.

Access the free tour via the event page.

Multigenre international film festival

On Friday at 5 p.m., watch movie shorts, poetry videos, web series episodes and more during this virtual event hosted by the Queens Underground and the N.Y. International Arts Festival. Participants can also vote for their “fan favorite.”

Purchase a ticket ($20) for the livestream on the event page.

In conversation: Antwaun Sargent

Join Antwaun Sargent, a New York-based curator and writer, on Saturday at 10 a.m. as he discusses his book “The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion” with Pippa Oldfield, head of programs at Impressions Gallery in England.

Register for the free Zoom call on the gallery’s website.

It’s Friday — you made it.

Metropolitan Diary: Getting around

Dear Diary:

In a rather cramped McDonald’s on Second Avenue, I watch as a woman in a wheelchair rides backward away from the counter and down the narrow aisle to the front of the store. There, she backs into a tiny space near the entrance.

Later, around the corner, the same woman boards the M96 that I am taking to the West Side.

I notice her again at the north corner of Broadway, waiting to cross 96th. Vehicles pass and turn around us as the crosswalk timer counts down.

Suddenly, the woman’s chair shoots backward with great speed over the sidewalk cutout and into the street. Fortunately, the way is clear.

As I cross, I notice she has a foot in a cast, propped up in the leg rest of her rather low-tech chair. All this time, she has been using her good foot to propel herself in reverse. I realize that she must have deliberately kicked herself into the street.

I keep my eyes on her. With barely a glance over her shoulder, she gets ready to kick herself backward over Broadway.

— Paul Klenk

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