[Want to get New York Today by email? Here’s the sign-up.]

It’s Thursday.

Weather: Mostly cloudy, with a high in the mid-40s and a 20 percent chance of light rain after dark.

Alternate-side parking: In effect until Wednesday (New Year’s Day).

Governor Cuomo is no longer married, and neither is Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York who declared his presidential candidacy last month.

But the men, both Democrats, helped expand marriage rights after their divorces.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that same-sex marriage was constitutional, but four years before that, Mr. Cuomo helped to legalize it in New York. And Mr. Bloomberg officiated one of the state’s first same-sex marriages, at Gracie Mansion.

So, it came as some surprise when Mr. Cuomo vetoed seemingly uncontroversial legislation that would have allowed federal judges from outside New York to officiate weddings here.

[Cuomo blocks judges picked by Trump from officiating weddings in New York.]

Mr. Cuomo wrote in his veto message that some people who would have benefited from the law are judges appointed by President Trump, and, as Mr. Cuomo wrote, “President Trump does not embody who we are as New Yorkers.”

The details

Federal judges in New York, and many other people, can officiate weddings here.

Mr. Cuomo’s veto message made it sound like he was blocking the Empire State from some kind of Republican incursion. He wasn’t.

The legislation was sponsored by State Senator Liz Krueger, a progressive Democrat from Manhattan’s East Side. It would have allowed “all federal circuit court of appeals judges and all Federal District Court judges” to preside over nuptials.

As for Mr. Cuomo’s veto message, Ms. Krueger told my colleague Jesse McKinley, “I do not think the reasoning made sense.”

Ms. Krueger, like many Democrats in New York, has vocally criticized the Trump administration and the conservatives that Mr. Trump has appointed to the bench. But, she added, “I’m not sure my moral outrage extends to refusing them the right to perform weddings.”

The precedent

New York legalized same-sex marriage in 2011, Mr. Cuomo’s first year as governor. It was the sixth and largest state to do so.

But New York was the last state in the union to allow no-fault divorces.

Most counties in New York allow practically anyone to officiate weddings. All someone has to do is get ordained online. That is what the singer Lady Gaga did. And the actress Fran Drescher. And my friend Brian Short. (So, an out-of-state judge appointed by Mr. Trump could simply get ordained.)

In 2018, New York even granted the power to officiate weddings to all 213 members of the State Legislature.

A personal history

Mr. Cuomo and Kerry Kennedy broke up after more than a decade of marriage, following his failed run for governor in 2002.

In a 2014 memoir, he suggested that he tried salvaging the marriage to the very end. After the book’s publication, Mr. Cuomo told The Daily News: “Even though Kerry had told me she wanted a divorce, I thought I could fix it. I couldn’t accept it. It only became real when a reporter called and said she filed papers.”

In September, Mr. Cuomo and his longtime girlfriend, the celebrity chef Sandra Lee, announced they were splitting up.

Mr. Bloomberg’s marriage to Susan Brown ended in divorce in 1993, but the couple has remained close. Ms. Brown and her boyfriend volunteered on Mr. Bloomberg’s 2001 mayoral campaign.

Want more news? Check out our full coverage.

The Mini Crossword: Here is today’s puzzle.

What we’re reading

A man was shot three times on a subway in Brooklyn on Christmas morning. [New York Post]

After a 2-year-old wearing only a diaper was found on a Bronx stoop, he was returned safely to his family by a neighbor and the Fire Department. [Daily News]

A judge struck down a rule limiting how many drivers working for ride-hailing apps could drive around busy parts of New York City without passengers. [NY1]

Coming up today

Join “Expression, Interaction and Improvisation,” an intensive Yiddish dance workshop at the 14th Street Y in Manhattan. 9:30 a.m. [$30]

Make your own mkeka and kinara (mat and candleholder) to celebrate Kwanzaa at the Museum of the City of New York in Manhattan. 11 a.m. [Free with museum admission]

See a screening of “Remember Tomorrow Is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life” at Bar Laika in Brooklyn. 9 p.m. [Free]

— Melissa Guerrero

Events are subject to change, so double-check before heading out. For more events, see the going-out guides from The Times’s culture pages.

And finally: Another Corvette contest

Thirty years ago, the music television channel VH1 held a contest that gave away an amazing prize: 36 Chevrolet Corvettes, one from each year since the car was introduced. To enter, you had to dial a 900 number that cost $2 a call.

More than a million people entered.

The winner was Dennis Amodeo, a carpenter from Huntington, N.Y., who, as luck would have it, didn’t own a garage. He wouldn’t need one.

Shortly after Mr. Amodeo won the Corvettes, he was contacted by Peter Max, the psychedelic art phenomenon, who purchased all 36 vehicles. Since then, the cars have been parked in a series of garages in the New York area, collecting dust.

The fleet is now owned by the Heller and Spindler families, who are big players in New York’s parking garage scene. Their plan for the 36 ’Vettes: Give them away again.

As my colleague James Barron wrote, the owners have set up a group called Corvette Heroes and have promised to give money from ticket sales to the National Guard Educational Foundation. One ticket — one chance to win one of the Corvettes — costs $3. There are discounts for larger purchases.

There will be 36 winners, one for each vehicle. The last day to enter the sweepstakes is April 30.

It’s Thursday — try your luck.

Metropolitan Diary: Beet greens

Dear Diary:

I was at the Union Square Greenmarket one Saturday when I was drawn to some radiantly green vegetable leaves. I had never seen anything like them.

I was behind the table where they were piled up, so I couldn’t see a tag that might tell me what this marvelous discovery was called. It took some time for the crowd of shoppers to thin out enough for me to circle around.

The leaves weren’t being sold on their own, it turned out. They were attached to bunches of beets. I don’t like beets, but I decided to buy some anyway. I had to have those greens.

Just then, a woman reached for the bunch at the top of the pile, the one I had wanted to take.

“Excuse me,” I said. “Do you eat the greens of the beets too?”

“Oh, no,” she said.

“Could I split the cost of that bunch with you?” I asked. “I only want the leaves.”

“Ah!” she said, smiling. “Good idea. Less waste.”

The vendor twisted the stems to separate the beets from the leaves. The woman and I each got the part we wanted for half the $3.50 price of the bunch.

For my first serving, I poached the greens in a tiny bit of water for a few minutes. After that, I developed a permanent craving.

Now, I go to the market early on Saturdays. I stand next to the table where the beets are piled high. It doesn’t take more than a minute or two for the right person to come by to split the cost of a bunch.

— Teresa Hommel

New York Today is published weekdays around 6 a.m. Sign up here to get it by email. You can also find it at nytoday.com.

We’re experimenting with the format of New York Today. What would you like to see more (or less) of? Post a comment or email us: [email protected].

Source: Read Full Article