The New York Times

Eagle-eyed Diane Cardwell gets a big peek at the mayor’s homes in Manhattan and London: “Throughout his tenure, the mayor has taken pains to protect his private life, refusing to divulge his weekend whereabouts, blocking aviation Web sites from tracking the movements of his private planes and swearing reporters to secrecy before granting access to his homes. Yet examples of the grandeur in which he lives had, until Monday, been in plain sight on the Web site of his longtime decorator, Jamie Drake, who is known for exuberance and has overseen rooms for Madonna as well as restorations at Gracie Mansion and City Hall.”

Thomas Kaplan notes: “The New York State housing commissioner, Darryl C. Towns, who was arrested in July after crashing his car in Westchester County, pleaded guilty on Monday to a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated and will lose his license for six months. Mr. Towns, a former state assemblyman and the scion of a powerful Brooklyn political family, will not have to serve any jail time, providing he does not run afoul of the law again.”

Kate Taylor writes: “Bob Turner, the Republican who won an upset election last week in the Ninth Congressional District, had been endorsed by two former mayors, but he had never met the current one. But on Monday morning he and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg shared a get-to-know-you breakfast at a diner in Queens.”

Christine Haughney notes: “More than 500 New York City residents are injured badly enough to be seen in hospitals after being struck by bicyclists each year, according to an analysis by Hunter College professors. The number, while small compared with the number of pedestrians injured by cars, is a much higher figure than an earlier study by the same researchers found.”

Columnist Michael Powell looks at voter turnout in last week’s special elections and worries about voter apathy.