The New York Times

Alan Feuer writes: “Under firm, if generally polite, examination, New York City’s fire commissioner defended his efforts to recruit minority candidates in court on Tuesday, saying the Fire Department has measurably increased its number of black applicants while rebuilding its ranks a decade after the losses from 9/11.”

Santos & Phillips reports: “For the first time in nearly two decades, students in New York City’s public middle and high schools will be required to take sex-education classes beginning this school year, using a curriculum that includes lessons on how to use a condom and the appropriate age for sexual activity.”

Thomas Kaplan notes: “Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, suggesting it was time for the state to ‘come to grips’ with the proliferation of gambling in New York and neighboring states, said Tuesday that he was weighing the legalization of commercial, non-Indian casinos in New York State.”

Mireya Navarro writes: “Sewage routinely contaminates the Hudson River, according to a report released on Tuesday after four years of water testing in which one-fifth of the water samples indicated that the river was unsuitable for swimming and other recreation.”

Sarah Maslin Nir hangs out with Alec Baldwin – who says that while he’s interested in becoming mayor he probably won’t run in two years.

Columnist Jim Dwyer tours Ground Zero: “If you have not laid eyes on the World Trade Center site for a while, the view now is nothing short of astonishing. It looks like a space for human beings.”