See It: UES Building Lit Up By Vice Presidential Debate

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Liz Fine was putting her son to bed around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday night, the vice-presidential debate playing in the background on her own TV, when she happened to glance out the window.

"I’m always looking at TV sets and I'm always interested in what people are watching," Fine, who works as a reality television producer, told Patch.

She was startled by what she saw: about 18 to 20 screens lit up in other apartments along Third Avenue near 94th Street, all of them displaying the faces of Sen. Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence, as well as the distinctive blue backdrop behind them.

"I showed my son, 'They’re watching the debate, look there, look there, look there!'" she said.

Fine took a photo, which she shared on Twitter, in which the debate is clearly visible on at least six screens. Over a dozen more TVs were showing it outside the frame of the photo, she said.

Viewership of the vice-presidential debates has declined in recent years, but Fine speculated that Wednesday's showdown may have drawn higher ratings, given her informal count.

"They had to be pretty decent, based on my Upper East Side tally," she said.

As for where the neighborhood stands on the election, Fine said she's firmly in the Biden-Harris camp. If 2016 voting patterns are any indication, about 85 percent of her neighbors will also likely cast their votes for the Democratic ticket.

In the meantime, there are more presidential debates on tap, and Fine said she plans to pay close attention to her neighbors' windows.

"I’ll definitely lean out and take a picture," she said.

Everyone on the upper east side of NYC is watching this debate! ⁦@maddow⁩ -just zoom in on the windows in this picture all the blue is the debate. ⁦@AFineBlogger⁩ @msnbc ⁦@thereidout⁩ #VPDebate pic.twitter.com/cWqe72fmL3
— Liz Fine (@lizardfine) October 8, 2020