True or false: New City Commissioner Nick Fish plans to join a camp out on city hall’s steps this Saturday night—a continuation of last month’s long protest against the sit-lie and camping ordinances.

False!

Chalk that rumor up to a “lame attempt at humor” on Fish’s part, he says. On Wednesday, when Fish presented Sisters of the Road’s Patrick Nolen with an award, Fish remarked: “Patrick and I had lunch the other day and today I gave him an award. By this rate we’re going to go camping this weekend,” Fish relayed to me last night. It was a joke, “since we were spending a lot of quality time together,” he says.

Fish didn’t realize there is a camp out protest this weekend, but his comments at the awards ceremony sparked speculation that he’d be swinging by. That’s a big deal, as it appears Fish will be the swing vote if the council revisits the sit-lie or camping ordinances this fall.

As for his views on those ordinances, Fish is still exploring the issue before he makes up his mind. “What I said to [Nolen] was I need some time to go around the horn. There’s a half dozen people I’m going to meet with to talk about it,” he says, including Police Chief Rosie Sizer, the PBA’s Mike Kuykendall, folks from the advocacy community like Marc Jolin and Nolen, his colleagues, and representatives from those who’ve been testifying in front of city council on a weekly basis about the ordinances. “As the new commissioner and as someone who is now going to play a leadership role on this issue, I wanted to make sure I understand this issue completely.”

And as for Fish’s weekend? “I’m hoping to spend the weekend in bed. I have these flu symptoms.”