October 13, 2000

AT $375M, SEAGRAM BLDG. SALE IS RECORD

The Seagram building is on the verge of being sold for an astronomical $540 a square foot. The New York-based German-born duo of Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs have agreed...

NYT YANKS IPO, BLAMES TIMING

"All the news that's fit to print" is apparently not fit for a dot-com IPO. The New York Times said yesterday it is postponing the initial public offering of its...

IT'S TIME FOR GREENSPAN TO RESCUE THE MARKET

IS the stock market getting set to crash? There's no Ouja board on my desk. But I do see a few things that'll have to happen in order to avoid...

ABBY COHEN DETHRONED - GOLDMAN STRATEGIST TUMBLES ON I.I. LIST

The investing queen has been dethroned. Abby Joseph Cohen was bumped from the top spot as Institutional Investor magazine's All-American portfolio strategist - and demoted to No. 3. Goldman Sachs'...

STAFF HEADS FOR EXITS IN URBANFETCH FIRE SALE

Everything must go - including the staff. Instant delivery service Urbanfetch started liquidating its inventory last night, slashing prices in a bid to clear its shelves. The company yesterday confirmed...

EU ENFORCER EYES VIVENDI, SEAGRAM DEAL

Vivendi and Seagram may be next to get the full Monti. Mario Monti, the European Union's competition commissioner, plans to temporarily block the approval of Vivendi's planned $34 billion merger...

MUTUAL FUNDS TOOK THEIR LUMPS IN THE BIG MARKET ROUT

The market's biggest players took the biggest lumps yesterday. Mutual funds - saddled with the majority of the world's stocks in play - got a broad hammering in the rout...

BIKINI.COM TOTTERING ON THE BRINK

The party could be over for Bikini.com. The Web site, which bills itself as "the world's biggest beach party," may be the next dot-com to implode. The company's CEO is...

RX LAUGHS RICHARD GERE COMEDY IS JUST WHAT THE 'DR.' ORDERED

"Dr. T & THE WOMEN" 3 ½ stars THE biggest surprise in this delightful comedy isn't the "surprise" ending, which I've been asked not to divulge - though director Robert...

TOP TALENTS TRY LIKE THE DEVIL TO SALVAGE 'LOST SOULS'

THERE are phenomena that defy rational explanation, that tempt even the most skeptical of us to a belief in dark, supernatural forces. For instance, what else but a satanic conspiracy...

ART IMITATES SLEAZE

CLEARLY inspired by President Clinton's impeachment, "The Contender," an extremely well-acted if predictable movie, asks whether a politician's sex life is the public's business. What's presented, though, is a scenario...

LATEST 'SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE' FLICK IS DOA

'THE Ladies Man," an alleged comedy about a cognac-swilling '70s-style Lothario, is arguably the limpest film yet spun out from a "Saturday Night Live" sketch. This shlocky-looking mess runs out...

HOW TO MAKE WOMEN HAPPY

HOW can we guys make women happy?Not calling again is my way.I started thinking about that question after attending the premiere of "Dr. T & the Women," which stars Richard...

HAPPY ON THE INSIDE - BUT MYSTIKAL, THE MAN, KEEPS A HARD SOUND ON HIS FACE ; STEVEN MCBRIDE

IN photos, Mystikal looks like a total bad-ass - he scowls, squints and grits his teeth as if he's ready to bite.But this Desert Storm veteran is as good-natured a...

2 TROUPES OFFER SEVERAL SATISFYING STYLES

DANCE in peacock-rich variety is displayed currently on the New York scene with Julio Bocca's own Ballet Argentino at City Center through tomorrow and the very different Dayton Contemporary Dance...

LIMELIGHT-SHY RADIOHEAD PLAYS IT DARK

RADIOHEAD YOU may not read about Radiohead's surprise Skyscraper Park concert in the Times or the Snooze because of the band's inane attempt to control concert coverage by not providing...

KING REGE IS UNDER SIEGE; NBC PLANNING QUIZ RIVAL AS 'MILLIONAIRE' RATINGS SLIDE

'WHO Wants to Be a Millionaire" might have seen better days - and NBC is ready to rumble with its own prime-time quiz show. The Peacock network is busily prepping...

WWF BOSS CALLS H'WOOD BIGS A BUNCH OF WIMPS

WORLD Wrestling Federation honcho Vince McMahon ripped Hollywood executives - to their faces - who "caved in" to Washington's recent campaign against violence on TV and in movies. "Quite frankly,...

A BOY BORN TO DANCE

'GIRLfight" inverted and then crossed with "Flashdance," "Billy Elliot" is an uplifting, crowd-pleasing film in the tradition of "The Full Monty" that could easily win Oscar nominations for both its...

THE STARR REPORT

'Hatchett' welcomesa guest - Hillary! Yes, that was Hillary Clinton sitting in Judge Glenda Hatchett's chair yesterday at the "Judge Hatchett" studios on W. 42nd St. Clinton, who's battling Rick...

TALES OF NOT-SO-MERRY OLD ENGLAND & SYBARITIC SUBURBIA

NINETEENTH century England was not known for drama. A rare exception is "Money," the 1840 serious comedy by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, best known for his melodramatic novel "The Last Days of...

IT'S ALMOST MILLER TIME - 'CRUCIBLE' REVIVAL NEEDS LEADING MAN

PLANS are afoot to revive "The Crucible," Arthur Miller's classic play about the Salem witchcraft trials, on Broadway this spring, The Post has learned.The production is, however, contigent on finding...

HOOKY TEEN NABBED IN MOM'S SLAY

A 15-year-old Bronx teen got into an argument with his mom about playing hooky yesterday and stabbed her to death, cops said. Douglas Wright called 911 for help after he...

AMAZIN'S TAKE ON HEX NUTS: CARDS' FANS TRY VOODOO AFTER METS' GAME 1 ROUT

ST. LOUIS - Bird-brained Cardinals fans turned to magic and good-luck charms yesterday - hoping to ward off another drubbing by the Amazin' Mets. The desperate, red-clad masses were snapping...

HILL BOOED ROUNDLY AT ISRAEL RALLY

Hillary Rodham Clinton was booed loudly at a pro-Israel rally on the East Side yesterday, moments after her Senate rival, Rick Lazio, was warmly received by the 15,000-strong crowd. The...

A WRONG TURN TURNS DEADLY FOR TRAGIC TRIO

JERUSALEM - What began with a wrong turn on a dusty West Bank road ended with a ferocious attack by a chanting mob of hundreds of Palestinians on three helpless...

CONGRESS GIVES WAR ON AUTISM BIG BOO$T

A groundbreaking bill that aims to put autism research and education on the fast track is awaiting President Clinton's signature after getting congressional approval. The organization Cure Autism Now, which...

NYPD BEEFS UP PATROLS AT HOT SPOTS

Cops around the city are on heightened alert for terrorist attacks after Mideast tensions exploded in a bloody attack on a U.S. Navy ship yesterday. "We are increasing patrols. We...

CLINTON CONSIDERS TRIP TO COLD WAR FOE N. KOREA

WASHINGTON - President Clinton is considering a historic peacemaking trip to North Korea - one of the United States' oldest adversaries - before his term ends in January. A joint...

BIAS CRIMES TARGET JEWS AND MUSLIMS

Mideast tensions have been boiling over in New York with several bias incidents, police said yesterday. One incident occurred in Brooklyn Wednesday, when an Arab man struck up a conversation...

BUTCHERY RIPS AWAY ARAFAT'S FALSE MASK OF PEACEMAKER

YOU could feel the pain in Shimon Peres' voice as he spoke to the TV cameras. Israel's former prime minister, a utopian believer in Jewish-Arab conciliation, had been betrayed by...

SWOBODA'S EAGER FOR STRAPHANGIN' SERIES

Ron Swoboda, who thrilled Miracle Met fans with a legendary Fall Classic catch at Shea in 1969, says a Subway Series would be simply Amazin'. Swoboda, 56, a key member...

COUNCIL MULLS CHANGE IN TERM LIMITS

The top Republican on the City Council said yesterday that he's prepared to introduce a bill to overturn the 1993 term-limits law, a move with explosive political ramifications. "I'm not...

LESSON OF THE COLE: THE NAVY ISN'T READY FOR THIS WAR

PEARL Harbor it was not, but yesterday's attack on USS Cole in Aden harbor appears to have caught the U.S. Navy wholly by surprise. It shouldn't have. What madness! Docking...

DOC FLIRTED WEEKS AFTER WIFE'S ; DEATH: EX-GIRLFRIEND

Talk about a "smooth operator." Murder suspect Dr. Robert Bierenbaum was cruising for chicks even while performing surgery - less than two months after the wife he's accused of strangling...

HILL'S HISTORY LESSON HAS NO BASIS IN TRUTH

HILLARY Rodham Clinton, who is fond of lecturing about African-American history, may need a refresher course in the Truth. Sojourner Truth, that is. A black-oriented monthly newspaper is demanding an...

EX-RUDY KIN GUARD WINS 50G IN SUIT

A cop assigned to protect Mayor Giuliani's family was awarded $50,000 by a Manhattan jury yesterday for facing retaliation when he complained about not getting a promotion. But the federal...

BX. STUDENTS CAN'T STAND THEIR CHAIRLESS CLASSROOMS

THE principal at IS 135 in The Bronx has one. Even the sleepy-eyed security guard on the first floor has one to ease his tired rump. But for the past...

RUDY'S POLLSTER HELPS RICK TALK A GOOD GAME

RICK LAZIO seems to be following the free advice of Frank Luntz, Mayor Giuliani's pollster. A magazine article in The New Yorker details Luntz's work with "Word Labs," in which...

PARENTS DONATING A KIDNEY TO EACH CHILD

A Long Island couple plans to give the gift of life - again - to their son and daughter, both stricken with a devastating kidney disease. Paul Quatrale, 40, plans...

RALLY PINS THE BLAME ON ARAFAT

A pro-Israel rally on Second Avenue yesterday took on a hawkish tone as speakers and demonstrators blamed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for the sharp escalation of violence in the Middle...

'BIN LADEN'S SIGNATURE ALL OVER IT'

Terror mastermind Osama bin Laden last night emerged as the lead suspect in what officials call an intricately planned and well-orchestrated bombing attack on the USS Cole in Yemen. The...

U.S. NAVY FEARS 17 DEAD IN SUICIDE BLAST - CLINTON VOWS JUSTICE IN ATTACK ON DESTROYER

WASHINGTON - President Clinton vowed yesterday to hunt down and hold "accountable" the terrorists who masterminded the suicide attack that killed up to 17 American sailors in a port in...

CHILLING FORECAST FOR A MUCH MORE NORMAL WINTER

New Yorkers can expect a wintrier winter than the warmish ones of recent years, meteorologists predict. "Expect an average winter which will be colder and snowier than you were used...

BUSH AND GORE UNITE: U.S. HAS TO STRIKE BACK

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Presidential rivals Al Gore and George W. Bush yesterday declared a brief cease-fire of their own as the Mideast and Persian Gulf erupted in new violence. The...

DROP IN TEST SCORES CATCHES CITY LAGGING ON STRICT STANDARDS

Kids usually score better in the second year of a new test - but not in New York this year. Educators rang alarm bells yesterday over the horrible scores on...

AIDES PUSH CLINTON FOR THE NOBEL: TV REPORT

White House aides have lobbied to get President Clinton this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to broker peace in the Middle East, Fox News Channel reported yesterday. White...

CRISIS 'X FACTOR' MAY RATTLE ELECTION OUTCOME

GREENSBORO, N.C.THIS isn't the October surprise in the Mideast everyone was expecting. Until now, the chatter was about whether President Clinton could midwife a peace deal before the Nov. 7...

METS NEARLY HOME FREE - WIN PUTS 'EM UP 2-0 AS THEY HEAD BACK TO SHEA

Mets fans were sitting in the catbird seat last night after the Amazin's plucked the Cardinals in a wild 6-5 win in St. Louis to head home with a two-game...

HURTIN' METS CRY OUT: HEY, ABBOTT! KURT GETS THE CALL AT SS FOR GAME 2 WITH BORDICK AILIN'

ST. LOUIS - With Bobby Valentine holding back shortstop Mike Bordick for Game 2 of the NLCS, Kurt Abbott got his first start of the postseason last night after a...

ANKIEL TAKES CARDS FOR WALK ON WILD SIDE

ST. LOUIS - Nothing happens at spring training without the field coordinator's approval. He is the man who organizes a seemingly unmanageable situation and makes sure spring training runs smoothly....

TWO- GOOD AMAZIN'S BUSCHWHACK CARDS: PAYTON HIT IN 9TH GIVES METS COMMANDING EDGE IN NLCS

Game 2 Mets 6 Cardinals 5 ST. LOUIS - The only thing that can prevent the Mets from not fulfilling their half of the Subway Series dream is disaster. The...

BUM TOE CAN'T KEEP PIAZZA OUT OF GAME 2 LINEUP

MET NOTES ST. LOUIS - Mike Piazza's bad big right toe was healthy enough so the catcher could start Game 2 last night. "He felt better this morning," Bobby Valentine...

METS, CARDS WAGE WAR OF WORDS

ST. LOUIS - Forget any Bobby Valentine-Tony La Russa feud. Thanks to reliever Mike James' beanning of shortstop Mike Bordick in Game 1, this one has expanded to a verbal...

IS THE END IN THE CARDS? WILPON MUM ON V, PHILLIPS' FUTURE

ST. LOUIS - Mets co-owner Fred Wilpon wore a radiant smile as he strolled along the grass at Busch Stadium last night prior to Game 2 of the NLCS. Why...

FRANCO'S VALUE GOING SKY HIGH

ST. LOUIS - The Big Man has been shaky out of the bullpen. That would normally put Mets' fans in a funk, because Armando Benitez is needed now more than...

PIAZZA NOW HAS RAZOR'S EDGE

ST. LOUIS - Look closely at Mike Piazza and you'll notice something different. That thin beard that Piazza sported during the final weeks of the season is gone. He now...

MARTIN SCORES WELL IN FIRST TEST WITH NETS

NET NOTES Kenyon Martin doesn't get butterflies. Playing in his first game since fracturing his right fibula on Mar. 9 during the quarter-finals of the Conference USA Tournament, Martin, the...

M'S BATTLING OWN LUMBER SLUMBER

These aren't the Seattle Mariners of old, a team of power hitters playing in a glorified bomb shelter known as the Kingdome. These Mariners are more National League League than...

HILL ON FORDHAM: WE'RE A YEAR AWAY

Give Bob Hill credit, the man is realistic. Hill, preparing for his second season as Fordham's basketball coach, knows he has an improved product. He also knows expectations grow with...

FALL IN NEW ENGLAND ; JETS WILL HAVE TOUGH TIME VS. BELICHICK'S PATS

REGULAR readers of this space probably have noticed the Jets are usually the pick here. One of the exceptions was last season's Monday nighter in Foxboro, when Ray Lucas had...

GOOD TIME TO MAKE IT REEL

IT has been a busy time for anglers around Long Island and the north Jersey shore with the continued fine action for bottom species and the increased activity involving striped...

THE 'BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN

Don't be coming around wearing that Cowboys uniform, not at Giants Stadium this Sunday, not unless you are willing to get Sam Garnes awful angry and ornery. He doesn't want...

A SEHORN OF TROUBLES FOR AIKMAN

GIANT NOTES Jason Sehorn is as unemotional a player as you will see on the field Sunday when the Giants face the Cowboys at the Meadowlands. And so, when he...

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, YANKSRIGHT WHERE THEY WANT TO BE

SEATTLE - You know what is wrong with the Yankees? Of course you do. That is all you have been reading, hearing and seeing for about a month now. They...

LUCAS: NEXT TIME I'LL BE READY

JET NOTES Ray Lucas, who's looking more like he'll be back to his backup role Sunday, insisted yesterday that he'll be better next time around when called upon. Lucas maintained...

VINNY'S SET TO GO

Vinny Testaverde said he's ready to play, but acknowledged that it's Al Groh's decision. Ray Lucas said he's ready to play, but insisted not to rule out Testaverde. Al Groh,...

CHAMP DEVILS FACE OLD-TIME NEMESIS

OTTAWA - Having enjoyed all of one game as reigning Stanley Cup champs, the Devils run squarely into their old balloon-busters. Those who remember would rather not. It was a...

FOX: STOP BEING CRAZY ; TWO WAYS TO IMPROVE POST-SEASON COVERAGE

QUICK, before it's too late. Two things that Fox can immediately do to make its post-season baseball coverage immediately better: 1) Go a lot easier on the camera work-out exercises....

PENALTIES HAVE ISLES BOXED IN

Until they recognize that the league is serious about enforcing its rules, the Islanders will continue their nightly million-player march to the penalty box. Furthering an infraction inclination that began...

MALAKHOV SIDELINED FOR ANOTHER 4 WEEKS

Well, at least Vladimir Malakhov will have a month to scout out the area's ski resorts. For the defenseman, whose visit last winter to a Montreal ski slope with his...

ERASMUS BATTLES TO GET GRIDDERS BACK IN HUDDLE

Like bickering children, representatives of the Erasmus football program that was shut down earlier in the season finally met with the school's administration yesterday. The fact that they met was...

NO TOWN LIKE MOTOWN ; PISTONS PASSED UP PLAN B EWING DEAL

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Remember the original four-team (Knicks, Lakers, Sonics, Pistons) Patrick Ewing/Glen Rice/Vin Baker swap meet that was toe-tagged no less than an hour before a conference call was...

ROCKET'S GOT EXTRA BOOST

YANKEE NOTES SEATTLE - On top of wanting to make up for sending his teammates on a cross-country flight last Saturday night, Roger Clemens will be working tomorrow night on...

SCHWARTZ STEPS IN AS NYRA HEAD

Barry K. Schwartz spent his first day at the racetrack as the new chairman and CEO of the New York Racing Association yesterday, in company with the man he replaces,...

'KID' TRAINER FEELS HE'S AS GOOD AS 'GOLD'

So what if Fusaichi Pegasus, the highly acclaimed Kentucky Derby winner, won't run tomorrow in Belmont Park's Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup after stubbing his toe last...

BONE UP ON BREEDERS' CUP

Belmont will feature Breeders' Cup Preview Day tomorrow and there will be a book signing by Jay Privman, author of Breeders' Cup: Thoroughbred Racing's Championship Day, while the live racing...

TINO REWARDS JOE'S PATIENCE

SEATTLE - Shhh!!!!! Just between you, me and the walls the Yankees can't hit the ball over, Tino Martinez has awakened. The best-kept secret of this Yankee postseason had another...

SELE GETS CHANCE TO CHANGE HISTORY

SEATTLE - If those who forget history are really doomed to repeat it, Aaron Sele better have a memory like an elephant tonight. The Mariners right hander has been down...

ARMED AND DANGEROUS: BOMBERS ASKING ANDY TO MUZZLE M'S

SEATTLE - There is a reason Joe Torre has harped about pitching from the day George Steinbrenner hired him to manage the Yankees. It wins. In April. In July. In...

SERIES TICKETS ON SALE

SEATTLE - A limited number of World Series tickets for the first and second home games as well as the third and fourth home games at Yankee Stadium will go...

HAWKS WANT BETTER DEAL

While Dikembe Mutombo continues to make statements suggesting he has no interest in signing a contract extension with the Hawks this month, Atlanta GM Pete Babcock told The Post yesterday...

KENYON PASSES FIRST TEST

NET NOTES Kenyon Martin doesn't get butterflies. Playing in his first game since fracturing his right fibula on Mar. 9 during the quarter-finals of the Conference USA Tournament, Martin, the...

MARINERS' BATS IN DIRE STRAITS

SEATTLE - For the past week, the white-hot spotlight has been on the offensive struggles of the Yankees. Suddenly, the Mariners are feeling the blistering scrutiny of ants under a...

STERN: IVERSON WILL EDIT CD

Commissioner David Stern said last night he won't fine or suspend Sixers rapper/guard Allen Iverson over the All-Star's controversial, soon-to-be-released CD. However, Stern indicated Iverson would edit out some of...

SPREE TURNS ANKLE IN KNICKS' VICTORY

PRESEASON Knicks 91 Sixers 83 The first look at the Latrell Sprewell-Allan Houston-Glen Rice troika on the court together lasted just 3:43. With 1:11 left in the first half last...

COLD-BLOODED TIMO HAS OCTOBER IN VEINS

ST. LOUIS - October is no place for rookies who get the shakes. For the second time in a week, Cardinals left-hander Rick Ankiel reminded us of that last night...

EDMONDS: 'I LOST THIS GAME ALL BY MYSELF'

ST. LOUIS - All year Jim Edmonds has been the Cardinals' MVP, the one player St. Louis couldn't win without. Never was that made more clear than in the Cards'...

REDEMPTION FOR ARMANDO: AFTER FRANCO FLOPS IN 8TH,BENITEZ THE SAVIOR AGAIN

ST. LOUIS - The night started for Armando Benitez with a television montage of all his post-season failures, seven home runs, including the infamous Jeffrey Maier catch that allowed Derek...

A LITTLE ELBOW ROOM: INJURY-PRONE PAYTON THRILLED TO BE PART OF DREAM SEASON

ST. LOUIS-There are times before, during and after a baseball game when Jay Payton stops and reflects about how grateful he is just to be playing in the big leagues....

PIAZZA SHOWS HE'S NO GOAT

ST. LOUIS - Look closely at Mike Piazza and you'll notice something different. That thin beard that he sported during the final weeks of the regular season is gone. He...

IT'S ANKIEL AWAY AGAIN AND AGAIN

ST. LOUIS - Steve Blass never had it this bad. It's gotten to the point where Rick Ankiel could barely hit the broad side of a barn, much less the...

LA RUSSA AND PHILLIPS WAGE WAR OF WORDS

ST. LOUIS - Forget any Bobby Valentine-Tony La Russa feud. Thanks to reliever Mike James' plunking of shortstop Mike Bordick in Game 1, this one has expanded to a verbal...

ZEILE ENJOYS CLEANING UP AT BUSCH

MET NOTES ST. LOUIS - Todd Zeile batted in the cleanup spot last night and while the Mets started this NLCS in style, taking the first two games, Zeile was...

LEITER: IT'S TOO SOON TO COUNT CARDS OUT

ST. LOUIS - Mets' co-ace Al Leiter has been around long enough and played for enough quality teams that he has three World Series rings in his past. Leiter twice...

FONZIE'S SECRET: STAY COOL AND NEVER GIVE UP

ST. LOUIS - Another heart-stopping game, another great performance from Edgardo Alfonzo. Alfonzo stretched his post-season hitting streak to eight games in the Mets 6-5 win over the Cards last...

BIG MAC ATTACK NEVER GOT A CRACK

CARDINAL NOTES ST. LOUIS - It would seem Mark McGwire's role in the NLCS has been reduced to wringing his bat in the Cardinal clubhouse. The major league's most feared...

CARDS AREN'T READY TO QUIT

ST. LOUIS - As the NLCS began, the baseball world heard all about the supposed homefield advantage St. Louis has, how the best fans in baseball would lift the Cardinals...

TWO-GOOD AMAZIN'S BUSCHWHACK CARDS: PAYTON HIT IN 9TH GIVES METS COMMANDING EDGE IN NLCS

Game 2 Mets 6 Cardinals 5 ST. LOUIS - The only thing that can prevent the Mets from not fulfilling their half of the Subway Series dream is disaster. The...