December 4, 1999

AOL EXILES CHATROOM LEADER; DELENA PLANS SUIT OVER SITE OWNERSHIP

One of America Online's leading chatroom leaders is fighting back after he and others were booted offline by the giant Internet company. Bronx native Robert DeLena created a cyber-forum four...

NEW Y2K E-MAIL VIRUS DETECTED

Another day closer to Y2K -- another virus surfaces. A new Melissa-related virus is timed to deliver its payload at the start of Y2K. The worm-type virus can wipe out...

TEEN FLICK IS 'VIRTUAL' TORTURE

THERE'S no sex -- real or even computer-generated -- in "Virtual Sexuality," a clueless British teen comedy that's unaccountably stopping briefly in theaters en route to the video racks. Justine...

GREATS SUCCESS: CITY CENTER'S "AILEY/ELLINGTON" CELEBRATES A DYNAMIC DUO

IT was a natural match made in heaven. They were two of the great artist of their time, black men working in a largely white-oriented arts culture. Duke Ellington and...

HANUKKAH HAPPENINGS

Break out the dreidels! It's Hanukkah time in the city -- and there may be no better place to celebrate the Festival of Lights than in this, the city that...

LET HOLIDAY SPA-RKLE WITH THESE PEACEFUL PRESENTS

Ask most hard-working city-dwellers to tell you what they want -- what they really, really want -- and they'll say a little peace and quiet. Unless you have access to...

PSYCH HOSP STAFFERS WANT DOGS OFF COUCH

ALBANY -- Barking like a dog on a Manhattan street corner won't automatically get you into a state mental hospital -- but if you're a real dog, it's a different...

ITALIAN MERCHANTS STILL BIG CHEESES ON ARTHUR AVENUE

Now, that's Italian. As great old Italian neighborhoods go, Little Italy has the name, but the Belmont section of The Bronx has the goods. While Mulberry Street has slowly turned...

HILL HIRES DINKINS AIDE TO RUN HER CAMPAIGN

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, under pressure from fellow Democrats to put some zing in her campaign, yesterday tapped New York Democratic operative Bill de Blasio as her campaign manager....

BONU$ TALK MERITS PRINCIPALS' LOOK

The city and school principals are closer than ever to a contract deal that officials say might include something previously unheard of in the Board of Education -- merit pay....

HE HAD HIS SHARE OF ENEMIES NO LACK OF ENEMIES

After the initial shock of Edmond Safra's murder, bankers around the world had two questions: Who had him killed and why? "This was definitely a revenge thing," said one longtime...

TWO MORE RAPS FOR RAPPER

Rapper Jay-Z's rap sheet tripled in size yesterday when the Grammy winner showed up in court to face charges he stabbed a rival record exec and learned two more alleged...

ATLANTIC ROWER IS NO OAR-DINARY GAL

A 36-year-old lawyer from Louisville, Ky., paddled into a harbor in Guadeloupe yesterday, becoming the first American and first woman to row alone across an ocean. "Next time, the Concorde,"...

MAGNATE'S DEATH WON'T AFFECT PLANS FOR SALE

The giant bank that just finalized a deal to buy Edmond Safra's Republic empire said the $9.9 billion sale would go through despite his murder. London-based HSBC said they were...

BRICK-ATTACK SUSPECT ISN'T VIOLENT GAL PAL

The 39-year-old woman cops believe is the girlfriend of the alleged Midtown brick fiend says she doesn't think the petty drug dealer could have committed the vicious assault. Jailed at...

SLAY WIDOW IN REWARDING CALL TO RUDY

Bureaucratic bungling by the Police Department prevented the widow of a murdered Bronx businessman from offering a $25,000 reward for the apprehension of his killer. But after a call to...

BILLIONAIRE EXERCISED DUE CAUTION

Kept a low profile.Edmond Safra, the reclusive billionaire banker killed in his Monaco penthouse yesterday, lived by the golden rule of caution. "His nature was pretty cautious," said Peter Mansbach,...

WORKFARE HONCHO WALKS ON COUNCIL

City welfare czar Jason Turner walked out of a City Council hearing yesterday as he was being grilled on Mayor Giuliani's new homeless policy that requires jobs for beds. Appearing...

JEWS CELEBRATE THE FIRST NIGHT OF HANUKKAH

Jewish families all over the world lit the first of their candles last night as they marked the start of the ancient Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Worshippers around the city...

PUERTO RICO: U.S. RENEGED ON VIEQUES ISLAND DEAL

President Clinton yesterday ordered the Navy to halt all live bombing on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques -- but local Gov. Pedro Rossello blasted the move as "unacceptable." Rossello's...

EYE DOCS WANT TO TEST STEVIE FOR MIRACLE SURGERY

REV. JESSE JACKSONJohns Hopkins University eye surgeons say they would be glad to examine singing sensation Stevie Wonder to find out if he is a good candidate for a high-tech...

GIRL, 8, GOES THE EXTRA MILE TO SAVE AILING SIS

A brave 8-year-old girl who hopes to save her big sister from leukemia stepped off a plane from the Dominican Republic last night for an emotional reunion with her family....

BANK TYCOON BUMPED OFF IN MONTE CARLO SAFRA KILLED AFTER APT. IS FIREBOMBED TYCOON BUMPED OFF IN MONTE CARLO

Two brazen hit men broke into the lavish apartment of billionaire banker Edmond Safra in Monte Carlo yesterday and set off a firebomb that killed him and a family nurse...

NASA TO MARS PROBE: PHONE HOME!

NASA's $165 million Mars Polar Lander repeatedly failed to radio home last night and early this morning to confirm whether it had reached the goal of its 11-month journey --...

COMIC MADELINE KAHN DIES OF CANCER AT 57

Madeline Kahn, the singing, dancing, wise-cracking comedienne most famous for her campy sex-kitten roles in Mel Brooks films, died yesterday of ovarian cancer. Kahn, who played the lispy-lipped lounge singer...

BUILDING AN EMPIRE: HOW LEBANESE-BORN BANKER EDMOND SAFRA BECAME ONE OF THE WORLD(-ESQ-)S RICHEST MEN.

(-sbull-) (MD+BO)1947:(MD-BO) Edmond Safra, 16, leaves school and goes to work for his father(-esq-)s bank in Beirut. (-sbull-) (MD+BO)1948:(MD-BO) The Safra family -- Jews who had financed the gold trade...

LUCKY BEASLEY WALKS AWAY FROM SPILL

Jeremy Beasley escaped serious injury again in his second spill in less than a week. In the seventh race, Beasley was involved in a chain reaction entering the clubhouse turn...

THRASHED ISLES OUT FOR REVENGE

Having already handed the expansion Atlanta Thrashers their franchise's first-ever victory, the Islanders will try to avoid a repeat performance at Nassau Coliseum. Losers of 4 of 5, the Islanders...

CARMAZZI'S A-1 IN DIV. I-AA HOFSTRA'S QB SHOOTS FOR TITLE OF NY'S FINEST

THE letter is written in pencil and dated 11-27. It is from a young boy. "Dear Gio. We saw Lehigh lose to you guys today. You guys rule! This is...

KENDALL'S NOT KEEN ON SUBBING

NET NOTES Kendall Gill will come off the injury list and go onto the bench. For today at least. Gill, activated yesterday after spending five games allowing a bone bruise...

BE ON ALERT FOR CRAB GRASS IN BIG A'S GARLAND OF ROSES

There's speed enough to guarantee a fast early pace in today's six-furlong, $75,000 Garland of Roses Handicap for fillies and mares at Aqueduct. With Stacey Tracey, Anklet and Kayla's a...

MATHIS LIKES KENNEDY'S CHANCES

AYEAR ago, Kennedy reached the PSAL title game at the Garden, but lost to Cardozo. Now, the Knights are stronger, more experienced and, worst of all for the rest of...

HONOR AT STAKE IN 100TH ARMY-NAVY GAME

PHILADELPHIA -- Today's Big 12 championship game may still have national title implications. And the SEC title game will have millions of dollars worth of pro prospects on each sideline....

LIKE OLD TIMES FOR JETS' DB

JET NOTES There he was, just like normal in the locker room, kibitzing with teammates as he changed after practice, looking as if he were getting ready with them for...

CHREBET COUNTS ON TRUE-BLUE FRIEND ; JET RECEIVER STAYS PALS WITH STRAHAN

Ask Wayne Chrebet about Michael Strahan, and his eyes light up. And the things he says range from serious, straight-from-the-heart stuff to light-hearted tongue-in-cheek jabs at one of his best...

GILLEN WANTS BETTER BATTLE VS. ST. JOHN'S

It's been almost a year since Virginia coach Pete Gillen uttered the words which so accurately described St. John's 95-68 thrashing of the Cavs last season. "It was men against...

JET SALE WILL PRODUCE PLENTY OF GREEN

Seven months after the death of Leon Hess, the sale of his beloved Jets is entering the home stretch. The crucial second round of bids for the team has just...

KNICKS POINTING TO MARBURY RIP

Rapped Van's backcourt. The war of words began a year ago, the war on the court starts anew today at the Meadowlands. Chris Childs and the Knicks can't wait to...

STEPHON LOW-KEYS VAN GANG'S VISIT

There still was time in the first quarter and, almost remarkably, the Nets were not yet hopelessly out of the game. In fact, they were leading. Kerry Kittles, of all...

CAMBY: NETS GOOFED ON CAL

KNICK NOTES Marcus Camby stood up for his old college coach yesterday, saying the Nets made a terrible mistake firing John Calipari last season. "They should have kept Cal over...

THE WRONG WAY TO BO ; PHILLIPS ADMITS BONILLA BLUNDER

The .160 batting average couldn't do it, nor could the refusal to pinch hit in a game, or an invitation to the manager for a fist fight or even a...

AMAZIN'S SET TO OFFER ARBITRATION TO OLERUD

While the Mets await John Olerud's decision on a contract proposal, GM Steve Phillips is so unsure about when Olerud will make a decision that he is planning to offer...

MUCKLER'S TIRADE WAKES UP RANGERS

Rangers3Canadiens2 Ten minutes of indifferent work at yesterday's Rye morning skate were 10 minutes too many for John Muckler. So when another in a series of drills went awry, the...

DEVILS TAKEANGER OUTON OTTAWA

SUMMARY: P. 39Devils7Senators4 The powderkeg in the Devil locker room exploded -- on their visitors. The Senators wished they never came. "Sometimes turmoil is good," Randy McKay said after scoring...