February 25, 1999

A LIMITED FUTURE? 550 STORES GET ULTIMATUM

The owner of The Limited is giving the women's clothing chain a limited life. Billionaire retailer Leslie Wexner is ready to shut down all 550 Limited stores if the underperforming...

ANNUNZIATA HANGS IT UP AT AT&T

AT&T's top management ranks were roiled yesterday, with the departure of business services chief Bob Annunziata. The Brooklyn-born Annunziata, on the job just eight months, will run Global Crossing Ltd.,...

PUBLISHER OUSTED, REPLACED AT RANDOM

In a surprise shakeup, Random House's Ballantine Books ousted president Linda Grey and replaced her with former Pocket Books chief Gina Centrello. Centrello takes over a venerable publishing line with...

CABLEVISION EYES IRS NOD FOR SPINOFF

Cablevision has made a move toward spinning off, or creating a tracking stock, for its Rainbow programming unit, The Post has learned. Company execs have not said if they plan...

WEXNER SAW UNLIMITED SUCCESS FOR 3 DECADES

It took a quarrel with his father and a $5,000 loan from an aunt to goad Leslie Wexner into retailing. A law school dropout, the young Wexner got into an...

WEB SALES TO BLOOM, SAYS FLOWERS BOSS

JIM McCann, the founder of 1-800-Flowers, says that for consumers. e-commerce "still sucks." Describing it as clunky and slow, McCann said it's easy to see why shoppers are frustrated by...

CLINTON CRONY BEGALA A COLUMNIST, BY GEORGE!

John Kennedy Jr. has reached into the Clinton White House to tap veteran troubleshooter Paul Begala as a new columnist for the slumping George magazine. Begala, who is leaving the...

ZECKENDORF IS TOPS IN HIGH-PRICED DIGS

The Zeckendorf brothers have won bragging rights from Donald Trump for selling the most expensive apartments in Manhattan. Trump a year ago had claimed to be the champ when he...

GYM DANDY FOR ROMANCE

''Guys in bars are there looking for sex. And, sure, the guys who are going to health clubs are looking for sex, too - but they want to get in...

MIRACULOUS NEW DINING EXPERIENCE

ENTERING Belgo Nieuw-York, the enormous, two-story Belgian eatery on Lafayette Street, feels like walking into a futuristic airplane. A gaggle of handsome men and women - clad in black, monastic...

CITY BALLET GETS BACH TO ITS ROOTS

Dance Review IT was back-to-back Bach at the New York State Theater on Tuesday night, when New York City Ballet entered the beginning of the end (or was it the...

TV TICKER

'Story' time America's Puerto Rican heritage is examined in ''The Puerto Ricans: Our American Story,'' airing Saturday (8 p.m.) on WLIW/Ch.21. Former ''NYPD Blue'' star Jimmy Smits, Rita Moreno, Tito...

BLONDIE IN TOP FORM

M ORE times than not, the answer to the question "Why glue together a broken band?" is Spinal Tap economics: to squeeze rock stars for one last drop of blood...

'BRIGHT LIGHTS 'JUST LOW-'RENT'

Theater Review WORKS that deal with the ravages of expensive decadence are often accused of glamorizing what they pretend to condemn. "Bright Lights, Big City" was a 1984 novel by...

DEAL SENDS ARROW TO HEART OF ROMANTIC COMEDY ; 'CUPID' CREATOR HIRED TO START SNOOPING AROUND

NOW "Cupid" is really cooked. Any hope that the ABC romantic comedy might catch on at another network died yesterday when David E. Kelley - the most-talked-about producer in TV...

A 'SPECIAL' GOODBYE

JOHN McLaughlin is saying "bye bye!" to MSNBC's short-lived "McLaughlin Special Report." The motor-mouthed political pundit, who began hosting "Special Report" just last month, will host his last show on...

BARBARA'S BONANZA ; WALTERS-MONICA CHAT MINTS BIG ABC BUCKS

HOW much is Monica Lewinsky worth to ABC? Potentially, tens of millions of dollars in advertising revenue that the network would not earn from an ordinary edition of "20/20." And...

'ALICE' TAKES A TRIP: NBC'S GROOVY 'WONDERLAND'

ABSTRACT: Send "Masterpiece Theatre" on an acid trip and it'll meet "Alice in Wonderland" at the well-trafficked iintersection of Hallmark Entertainment and the previously televised classics "Gulliver's Travels," "The Odyssey"...

PSYCHO KILLER'S BID FOR RELEASE STIRS ANXIETIES

FLANKED by two mental patients, Juan Gonzalez stood silently against the wall inside the Bronx Psychiatric Center. The eyes of the man who used a sword to slice two people...

DID HEARTACHE KILL SLAIN KID'S BROTHER?

The family of a student kicked to death at a Manhattan school has suffered another tragedy - their eldest son has died. Doctors believe 14-year-old Francisco Martinez died of natural...

CAT LOVERS SET TO TURN GARDEN INTO KITTY CITY

You'll have to forgive cat owners for feeling a little defensive. For one thing, their sworn enemies - also known as "dog people" - get all the good press because...

COPS: PHONE VANDAL SLASHES OFFICER

A cop was slashed across the arm when he tried to stop a man from tampering with a pay phone in Manhattan early yesterday, police said. Officer Kenneth Baker, assigned...

EX-'VIEW' STAR ENDS PET PEEVE WITH LANDLORD

Debbie Matenopoulos won't lose her downtown digs because of her dog. "I'm glad it's over," the former "View" vixen said yesterday after beating back her Broad Street landlord's bid to...

GOV STANDS BEHIND DA'S INDICTED HUBBY

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki spoke out on behalf of Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro and her just-indicted husband yesterday, calling them both "longtime friends." "We just wish them very...

COP WEEPS ON STAND AS HE RELIVES OFFICER'S DEATH

A Brooklyn cop sobbed uncontrollably in court yesterday as he described desperate efforts to save the life of an officer killed last May when a thug got hold of the...

SHRINK TELLS TEXAS JURY: RACIST FIEND WILL STRIKE AGAIN

The racist thug who dragged a black man to his death will probably commit more shocking crimes against African-Americans if he is not executed, a top psychiatrist warned yesterday. "Anyone...

CITY HALL NO GARDEN SPOT FOR BUSTED PROTESTERS

Thirty people were carried out of City Hall in handcuffs yesterday after staging a noisy, '60s-style sit-in over Mayor Giuliani's auction of community gardens. "We have a right to be...

WOMAN, BOUND & BURNED, DIES

A 34-year-old Brooklyn woman, her hands bound and her body burned, was found in her bed yesterday by firefighters, authorities said. Siu Kwan Chow died as she was being rushed...

8,500 PROTEST KILLING OF 3 KURDS

Forty-seven people were arrested yesterday when angry Kurdish demonstrators marched through Berlin to protest the killing of three supporters of guerrilla leader Abdullah Ocalan. Cops made the arrests when the...

SEPARATE PLAY PENS FOR GOTTI AND CHIN

Federal prison officials have their hands full keeping convicted mob bosses John Gotti and Vincent ''Chin'' Gigante apart, The Post has learned The feds fear that if the two mob...

SAFIR: QNS. CASE NOTHING LIKE DIALLO

The mayor and police commissioner yesterday staunchly defended two cops who shot an unarmed Queens man, lashing out at comparisons to the killing of an African immigrant in a fusillade...

HILLARY DECISION WELL WORTH THE WAIT, $AY$ RUDY

Mayor Giuliani yesterday said the rampant talk of First Lady Hillary Clinton running for Senate in New York has given his own fund-raising a major boost - by as much...

IRON-BARRED MIKE GETS 25 DAYS IN HOLE

The ex-champ will remain in isolation until March 16 for smashing a television set and injuring a prison guard. Mike Tyson's TV-throwing tantrum has earned him 25 days in solitary....

CITY OFFICIAL WAS 'LYING' IN WAIT, SAYS STRIP JOINT

A top city official lied about his qualifications under oath in a bid to close down a strip club, the pleasure palace claims in court papers. But city lawyers blasted...

FOR STARTERS, HILLARY ISN'T A YANKEE FAN

RIGHT now, Rep. Nita Lowey (D-Westchester) is the lady-in-waiting, while Hillary Rodham Clinton takes her time deciding whether to run for U.S. Senate. But if you skip glamour and go...

DRUG BLITZ HITS HOUSING

Along with a new stepped-up drug crackdown on city streets, police also are going after drug dealing in housing projects, sources said. The new initiative started with a pilot program...

HIGH MARKS FOR CREW'S SUMMER-SCHOOL PLAN

Parents and educators yesterday hailed Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew's plan to hold back failing students in grades 3, 6 and 8 who don't attend summer school. "It's not always good...

RUDY: MY COPS AREN'T TRIGGER-HAPPY - GOES ON DEFENSIVE AFTER 2ND SHOOTING

Mayor Giuliani and his top cop yesterday trotted out a sheaf of statistics aimed at showing the NYPD is not trigger-happy - in the wake of the second police shooting...

'THRILLED' VEEP SET TO BECOME A GRANDPA

WASHINGTON - Just call him Grandpa Gore. Vice President Al Gore is expecting his very first grandkid in June - parents-to-be are daughter Karenna Gore Schiff, 25, a Columbia University...

O.J. LOSES CUSTODY APPEAL

O.J. Simpson is headed back to court.The California Supreme Court yesterday unanimously rejected Simpson's appeal to retain custody of his two children ] Sydney, 13, and Justin, 10.The ruling clears...

BRUTAL? NONSENSE! THEY SAVED A LIFE

YOU call 911 and say a man is trying to kill you, and you call three more times. Cops will streak to your side faster than a speeding bullet -...

BILL SLIPS AWAY FROM QUESTIONS ON 'SEX ASSAULT'

WASHINGTON - President Clinton yesterday dodged questions about charges he sexually assaulted Juanita Broaddrick, who in a TV interview shown last night said: "There's no way he could have thought...

FLAKE: GIVE PARENTS CHOICE

The Rev. Floyd Flake said yesterday he would do ''whatever it takes'' and devote all of his time to giving New York City parents a choice in how they educate...

LAURYN'S HILL 0F A NIGHT MULTIPLE HONORS FOR SINGER

The Grammys gave leading lady Lauryn Hill a big hip-hop hooray last night. The Fugees front woman snagged three early awards with her critically acclaimed debut solo album, "The Miseducation...

$TAR POWER FUELS CLINTON'S DEFENSE

WASHINGTON - Celebrities helped kick in $4.5 million toward President Clinton's legal bills during the year of Sexgate - but it appears the Clintons have yet to pay a penny....

BILL 'VICIOUS' IN '78 'RAPE,' VICTIM CRIES IN TV INTERVIEW

WASHINGTON - Juanita Broaddrick broke down in tears in her first TV interview last night as she described how Bill Clinton turned into a "vicious, awful person" and forced her...

LEWINSKY APOLOGIZES IN WALTERS INTERVIEW

Monica Lewinsky told ABC's Barbara Walters she's no longer in love with President Clinton and wants to apologize to the nation for the Sexgate scandal, The Washington Post reports today....

QUESTIONS ARE LEFT UNANSWERED

'DATELINE NBC" aired its disputed interview with Juanita Broaddrick, previously known as Jane Doe No. 5, last night after a storm of questions by talk-radio and Internet rabble rousers about...

$TAR POWER FUELS PREZ DEFENSE

WASHINGTON - Celebs helped kick in $4.5 million toward President Clinton's legal bills during the year of Sexgate - but it appears the Clintons have yet to pay a penny....

DULL SHOW HAD AS MUCH PASSION AS ELEVATOR MUSIC

THE 41st annual Grammy presentation was one of the most sedate, uneventful and toothless in recent memory. The must-watch TV eroded to who-cares TV by the end of the nearly...

REC0RD-BREAKER WAS ONE HILL OF A NIGHT - HIP-HOP HONEY LAURYN COPS FIVE BIG AWARDS

The Grammys gave dynamic diva Lauryn Hill a giant hip-hop hooray last night with a record-breaking five awards for her first solo album. "This is so amazing. This is crazy...

YANKS & NETS TEAMING UP IN BIZ DEAL

New York's greatest sports franchise, the Yankees, is close to merging with one of the area's weakest, the Nets, to create a TV and sports marketing powerhouse, The Post has...

THE POST HONORS: BLACK HISTORY MONTH

ABSTRACT: DID YOU KNOW? Legendary African-American expatriate Josephine Baker (1906-1975) adopted 14 children of different nationalities, calling them her Rainbow Tribe. Baker danced her way into the hearts of the...

Y.A. ALL FOR LT MAKING HALL

LEGENDARY quarterback Y.A. Tittle heard about all the controversy surrounding whether or not Lawrence Taylor should have been elected to Pro Football's Hall of Fame, a fraternity to which Tittle...

GALVIN ATTORNEYS LOOK TO DELAY NYRA HEARING

Attorneys for veterinarian Dr. Michael Galvin are asking the federal judge presiding over his $30 million lawsuit against the New York Racing Association to postpone a new hearing, scheduled by...

A MONUMENT IN WAITING ; FIERCE O'NEILL IS A TRUE YANKEE LEGEND

TAMPA - Paul O'Neill was born and raised in Columbus. Which is just right. Since everything before his arrival was preparation for the Yankees. "He really is a New Yorker...

BERARD LAYS THE BLAME ON OWNERS, MANAGEMENT

Bryan Berard doesn't blame Islander fans for not packing the Coliseum nor his former teammates for wanting out. ''It's tough there because the players and the fans are sitting there,...

POTVIN OUT 'TIL APRIL; SALO STEWS

"I had the ball all year before [Potvin] came over. I have nothing to prove. If [Milbury] didn't like me, just trade me."TOMMY SALO The Islanders' goaltending mess just got...

ROAD-HOT DEVILS TRAVEL TO BOSTON

BOSTON - The Devils, tied for league high in road victories with 19, visit Fleet Center tonight to face the Bruins. The Devils are 2-0 against Boston this season, including...

KNOBLAUCH SAD FOR DAD

TAMPA - Alzheimer's had worked deeply into Ray Knoblauch's mind a year ago. Still, it wasn't enough to keep him from traveling to Legends Field from Houston to see his...

PETTITTE POTHOLE ; ELBOW KEEPS ANDY FROM PITCHING BP

TAMPA - The only left elbow in the Yankees' rotation wasn't feeling well enough to allow Andy Pettitte to hurl batting practice at Legends Field yesterday, The Post learned. While...

RICKEY: LA RUSSA IS NO RACIST, BUT ...

PORT ST. LUCIE - Rickey Henderson was put in a tough position the other day when Ron Gant included his name in a list of African American players that didn't...

KNICKS FOR REAL? TONIGHT WILL TELL

No one is calling them frauds or labeling their 7-3 record as bogus, but a definite trend has developed for the Knicks in this condensed and shortened season. They beat...

ATWATER A JET LONGSHOT

The Jets are searching for a new starting free safety, which is why they invited free agent Steve Atwater of the Super Bowl champion Broncos for a visit. Atwater met...

QUIETLY, VENTURA DONS MET UNIFORM

MET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - With far less buzz than the day before when Rickey Henderson and Bobby Bonilla came to camp, another new Met arrived yesterday morning in...

BAERGA: BIG YEAR IN CARDS

JUPITER, Fla. - He turned the double play well, served as a mentor to shortstop Rey Ordonez and lent a bubbly, stand-up personality to the Mets' clubhouse. Yet, the one...

MAC COMES OUT SWINGIN' WANTS PEACE IN MLB

JUPITER, Fla. - In the long run, Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire might do as much for baseball with his mouth as he has with his record-breaking bat. McGwire started the...

THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN

O'Meara, Love, Monty & Els among losers CARLSBAD, Calif. - For the uninitiated, match play golf is Russian roulette for everyone - not the least of whom are the world's...

IRABU GETS FITNESS TIPS FROM ROCKET

YANKEE NOTES TAMPA - Hideki Irabu isn't attached to Roger Clemens' hip just yet, but give Irabu credit for picking the Hall of Fame lock's mind for conditioning tips. Irabu...

CAL CLEARS AIR WITH MURDOCK & BURRELL

NET NOTES The record is abysmal and everybody is on edge. But Nets players and John Calipari who openly snapped at each other during the fiasco at the Garden Tuesday...

LOCAL BOY LIVES OUT HOOP DREAM

"I grew up watching the Knicks on MSG and watching St. John's. It will be nice to get back there and finally get a chance to play there."NOTRE DAME'S TROY...

TIGER SHOWS FALDO HE'S THE 1

MATCH PLAY NOTES CARLSBAD, Calif. - The golf world waited with held breath and wide eyes as Nick Faldo, struggling to resurrect his career, battled Tiger Woods in one of...

JFK SCHOOLS THOMAS

Kennedy 80 Thomas 72 Robeson 62 MLK 52 Talk about an all-around performance. J.C. Mathis notched 20 points and seven rebounds to lead ninth-seeded John F. Kennedy to an 80-72...

BITTER DUNCAN: BOSS IS NUTS

PORT ST. LUCIE - Mariano Duncan may or may not make the Mets roster, but one thing is certain, he is not going back to the Yankees. Duncan, who wants...

NETS SNAGGED IN CONFUSION ; RAGGED START BEWILDERS CAL'S CREW

The Nets are as confused as anybody about their plight. You look at the roster and you see talent. Lots of it. You look at their games, and you see...

COOKING UP A DIFFERENT IMAGE ; SPREE WORKING HARD ON PERSONA

YOU WOULD have never known that this was his first outing in New York. The first time, he really pressed the flesh with a party of the city. For more...

STORM GETS IRISH UP AFTER BRUTAL START

It was such a pitiful display of basketball that at one point St. John's coach Mike Jarvis ] looking like someone who had spent three hours at the dentist ]...

NET READY FOR PRIME TIME CAL'S CLOWNS DROP TO 2-9

Nets lose 5th in row Blazers 94 Nets 85 Forget injuries. Forget a short season with a lack of training camp. No more calls, ladies and gentlemen, we have the...

GATLING WANTS OUT - NOW!

NET NOTES Chris Gatling wants out of New Jersey. After playing only eight minutes against the Knicks on Tuesday, the 6-10 Irvington, N.J. native met with John Calipari yesterday and...

MERGER GIVES BOSS TWO NEW PARTNERS ; NET OWNERS PUT JERSEY FIRST

George Steinbrenner is a household name. But who are these guys from the Nets who are on the verge of a business mega-merger with the Boss? Parking lot multimillionaire and...