October 17, 2000

BATTERY PARK BRAWL BREWING

A SIMMERING squabble over development rights to a precious Battery Park City site has come to a rolling boil. The Battery Park City Authority, the state agency that oversees the...

'DO OR DIE' TIME FOR E-TAILERS - SOME READY FOR HOLIDAYS, SOME NOT

LAST Christmas was a disaster for a lot of Internet retailers; they ran out of merchandise, failed to ship goods on time, or endured humiliating and costly site crashes. They...

HARD TIMES AT WEB SITE GLOVED ONE HELPED FUND

Michael Jackson wanted to start something - but what he started online isn't going very well. HollywoodTicket.com, in which the King of Pop invested $10 million to $15 million, has...

B&N, YAHOO! AIM TO 'NET READERS

Taking a clue from Kmart, Barnes & Noble is giving free Internet access to its customers. A free CD-ROM is being stuffed into shopping bags at checkout counters so customers...

REUTERS CEO DISCRIMINATED VS. WOMEN, LAWSUIT SAYS

Reuters Chief Executive Peter Job is under fire in England for allegations of sexual discrimination. A former employee of the London-based news organization claims she was the victim of sexual...

OIL MERGER CUTS DEEP - 4,000 EMPLOYEES TO GET PINK SLIPS

Fallout from the $41.4 billion merger of Texaco and Chevron could wipe out scores of executive jobs in Westchester. Chevron and Texaco yesterday said they expect to save $1 billion...

CHARITIES MAY LOSE KEY SOURCE OF FUNDS

The Chevron Texaco merger might mean the fat lady has sung her swan song. Texaco is the biggest supporter of the legendary Metropolitan Opera, raising concerns whether belt-tightening from the...

SHOWING RESPECT FOR THE PAST

The cheerful new Reuters tower at 3 Times Square, now nearing completion, has enough facades and facets for a half-dozen buildings. One of those facets just revealed itself over the...

FUROR OVER LATEST MAMET FLICK

THIS year's Hamptons Film Festival was a success all round, boasting several films that are likely to make a splash upon release -- assuming they all get American distribution. But...

TO THAI FOR - TREK THE NORTHERN HILLS, THEN HIT THE BEACH

THE van ride was the hardest part. When my wife and I signed up in Chiang Mai for a three-day trek through the hill tribe villages of northern Thailand, we...

REAL FINDS A GOOD BET

IF YOU'RE a flea market junkie, check out the Atlantique City Holiday Megafair, which bills itself as "the world's largest antique and collectible show." The show, held in Atlantic City's...

GETTING SOAPED UP - DISNEY HOSTS FLA. DAYTIME DRAMA EXTRAVAGANZA

EVER dream of meeting your favorite soap star? Thanks to Disney and ABC, you can - at Disney World's Super Soap Weekend on Nov. 11 and 12. More than 30...

IS ALI FILM KNOCKED OUT?

THE Muhammad Ali biopic is on the ropes, apparently KO'd by its own $100 million-plus budget. Sony executives are meeting with "Ali" director Michael Mann to see if the film...

'WHITEY' BACK IN HEARTFELT EVERLAST EFFORT

EVERLAST "Eat At Whitey's" () Tommy Boy Records Former House of Pain frontman Everlast takes one step back and two forward on his very hip reformulation of what it means...

ANSWER THIS,REGE ; (FINAL ANSWER: D)

NBC and CBS are barringtheir stars from appearing on ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." Stars from CBS and NBC, including "West Wing" president Martin Sheen, have reportedly been...

THE STARR REPORT

By George! Michael, Brooks snub VH1 George Michael and Garth Brooks have refused to let VH1 air their portion of the "Equality Rocks" concert, which was held last spring in...

PROS & CONS OF OFFICE ROMANCES

THERE'S absolutely nothing wrong with romancing someone in your office - unless, of course, you're a mortician. These days, lots of co-workers swap more than just e-mail. In fact, the...

WITH A THOUSAND BANDS, THE CMJ MUSIC MARATHON BRINGS ... TONS OF TUNES TO TOWN

PACK your best earplugs and bitchinest dancing shoes. The annual CMJ Music Marathon hits New York this week, bringing more than 1,000 bands to rock out 50 venues across Manhattan....

'XENA' SLAIN BY COST CUTTING

ACTION babe Xena is being forced to hang up her sword and ample breastplate. After six seasons of chopping and hacking, the high-rated syndicated action-hour "Xena: Warrior Princess" will wrap...

TV'S WORST 90 MINS. BUSH AND GORE A PAIR OF WIMPS WHO NEVER GO FOR KO'S

THE journalists and pundits who foam at the mouth in anticipation of another Gore-Bush debate have got to be kidding. Surely they're aware of how deadly dull the last two...

TRAVELER'S UPDATE

H'wood on the Hudson Rustic Columbia County welcomes the first annual Film Columbia festival, Friday through Sunday at the Crandell Theater in tiny Chatham, N.Y. Co-sponsored by the Chatham Film...

ALABAMA, BAYOU LEAVE - ROYAL RED SHRIMP AND RELAXATION RULE ON REDNECK RIVIERA

THE concept of Alabama-as-beach-destination may seem a little obscure, but that's only until you arrive. Jump in and you'll find a region with more to do with N'Awlins syrupy-smooth than...

LAZIO SHOWS HE'S A NICE ITALIAN BOY

Rick Lazio has started trying to make the most of his last name - a potentially huge political asset in New York. Just ask Pataki, Cuomo and D'Amato. Lazio's recent...

LAZIO: HILL WOULD TAKE STATE BACK TO STATUS CUOMO

BUFFALO - GOP Senate candidate Rick Lazio tried yesterday to chain his rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, to former Gov. Mario Cuomo - the man some upstate residents still blame for...

TOP U.S. RED GUS HALL DEAD

Gus Hall, who became synonymous with the American communist movement and ran for the White House four times as his party's presidential candidate, has died. He was 90. The longtime...

JACKIE O BIO'S NEW TRYST: SHE LOVED BOBBY!

A stunning new Jackie O biography says JFK's widow had a long-term affair with brother-in-law Bobby Kennedy after her husband was assassinated. "Bobby was Jackie's great love, a secret rock...

RIDERS CAN START TRAINING FOR A SUBWAY SERIES

Everybody is talking about the Yankees and the Mets - but let's not forget about the taken-for-granted subway, which would give the series its name. When the last Subway Series...

MISS AMERICA NEARLY THREW IN THE TIARA

Miss America Angela Perez Baraquio, dressed down in slacks, her hair in a bun and wearing a simple yellow lei, couldn't have looked more like the girl next door yesterday....

DEMS FEAR GORE MUST KO DUBYA AT DEBATE

ST. LOUIS - Al Gore needs a win in tonight's final presidential debate so badly that even his own "citizen advisers" are biting their nails. Democrats concede that rival George...

WORKING WITHOUT A 'NET - PSEUDO'S SAD TALE IS ONE OF MANY IN SILICON ALLEY

THE plunging tech market has wreaked havoc on the world of New York's Silicon Alley companies - which once chased dreams of new-tech, quick-buck riches. High-flying e-businesses such as boo.com,...

GENDER-BIAS CLAIM LORNA'S DOOM? - RUINS REP BY PUSHING FOR ADDITIONAL $15M FROM HER EX: EXPERTS

MARITAL-RIGHTS advocate Lorna Wendt, who landed a $20 million settlement from ex-General Electric guru Gary Wendt but wants $15 million more, may be pushing her divorce demands too far. Lawyers...

TEAM'S BELOVED MASCOT STAYS A-HEAD OF THE GAME

Dan Reilly is a Mets fan who really knows how to use his head. Reilly, 60, who grew up a diehard Brooklyn Dodgers fan in Richmond Hill, Queens, energized the...

NEW PREZ IN DEAL WITH SLOBBO ALLIES

Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party agreed yesterday to share power with Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica's followers in Serbia, the country's dominant republic. Although Milosevic was forced by a mass uprising to...

TWINS DOUBLE THE PLEASURE FOR AGELESS BEAUTY CHERYL

As if a 6-year-old son were not enough for a 53-year-old mom, model Cheryl Tiegs wanted more. Tiegs, who gained fame modeling skimpy swimsuits for Sports Illustrated, struck a pose...

DOC TRIAL'S 'BODY' OF EVIDENCE - TAPE SIMULATES AIR DISPOSAL

Jurors in the Robert Bierenbaum murder trial yesterday saw a dramatic video of a pilot pushing a heavy duffel bag out the door of a small plane and into the...

CITY WELFARE CZAR FINED IN ETHICS FLAP

Welfare Commissioner Jason Turner was slapped with a $6,500 fine yesterday for ethics violations, including using his office for private business. In a settlement with the Conflicts-of-Interest Board, Turner admitted...

TRADEMARK TIGERS SET FOR COURTROOM CAT FIGHT

Tony the Tiger got some gr-r-reat news yesterday - the Supreme Court gave Kellogg's mascot a nod to go claw to claw with Exxon's "Put a Tiger in Your Tank"...

H'WEEN HUBBUB OVER HARRY POTTER

A judge ruled yesterday that Harry Potter-lookalike Halloween outfits should magically disappear from store shelves while lawyers sort out if the company that made them stole the copyright. The decision...

TEAM RICK ON APPEARING WITH DUBYA: DUBYA WHO?

THURSDAY night's Al Smith dinner provides both Senate candidates a rare opportunity to be with their political party's presidential candidate - but only Hillary Rodham Clinton is excited about it....

MADONNA'S SON IS ONE HUNKY BABE: BRIT MAG

Ask one of Britain's most eligible bachelors for a date, and he'd be drooling all over you. Two-month-old Rocco Ritchie - Madonna's latest creation with director-boy toy Guy Ritchie -...

CO-ED'S SIS TO KILLER: 'YOU WILL ROT IN HELL'

The weeping sister of slain Columbia law student Lynda Hong stood up against her killer yesterday in court, vowing he "will rot in hell" for the grisly throat-slash murder. Lynda's...

MELLOW FARRAKHAN FALLS FAR SHORT OF A MILLION

WASHINGTON - Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan joined forces with the Rev. Sun Myung Moon yesterday at a massive rally on the steps of the Capitol building to promote...

BADILLO BASHES CITY'S BILINGUAL ED

The author of the federal bilingual-education law charged that the program has become a sham in New York City, leaving thousands of students illiterates instead of English-proficient. "Bilingual education is...

NAVY MOM SHOWS MOTHER OF ALL COURAGE

PORTSMOUTH, Va.BY just looking at her, it's hard to tell that Gloria Clodfelter's son Kenneth may be buried somewhere in the belly of the USS Cole. She laced her interview...

'EMBEZZLE' REV. SENT TO CANADA BY CHURCH

MONSIGNOR Thomas Gradilone, the Queens priest at the center of a $2 million embezzlement probe, was flown out of the country by church officials to seclusion in Canada, The Post...

NAIVE HOPE STUCK IN THE CROSSFIRE OF CIVILIZATIONS

WHILE Barak, Arafat and Clinton negotiate in vain at the Sharm el-Sheik summit, American and Israeli supporters of the so-called peace process have to wonder: Do we understand the Arab...

HUBBA-HUBBA FOR HOWARD - BLOND BEAUTY IS STERN'S NEW GAL PAL

Shock jock Howard Stern's new gal pal is a buxom blond actress from the neighborhood. Stern and the stunning Beth Ostrosky, in her late 20s, have been spotted sharing cozy...

COPS NAB TWIN BOYS IN RAPE OF BX. MOM

A 13-year-old boy beat and raped a Bronx mom while his twin brother held down the woman's 2-year-old son - covering the tot's mouth to keep him from screaming for...

N.Y. FEDS TO LEAD COLE BLAST PROBE

Manhattan-based federal prosecutors - who are experienced in investigating Arab terror bombings - will lead the probe into the attack on the USS Cole, officials said yesterday. Though no certain...

SUBWAY RUNS LOCAL FOR LEITER & FRANCO

ALL that's at stake, really, is eternal bragging rights. Think about that for a second. That's what the Subway Series is all about. For the most part, players don't care...

METS' TRAIN PULLS INTO THE STATION - WIN PENNANT; YANKS COULD BE ON DECK

Now it's up to the Yankees! The Amazin's got their METrocard for the Subway Series yesterday, clobbering the Cardinals, 7-0, to win the National League pennant and qualify for just...

MO. GOV FEARED DEAD IN PLANE CRASH

Missouri's governor was missing and feared dead after his plane crashed last night. Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan, who was locked in a tough race to unseat Sen. John Ashcroft (R-Mo.),...

WILPON: IT'D BE SUB-THING ELSE: MET CO-OWNER SAYS BRING ON THE BOMBERS!

Mets co-owner Fred Wilpon is rooting for the Yankees in the ALCS. He wants to see the Subway Series. "I'm ecstatic," Wilpon said of the possibility to be half of...

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE THREE-DAY MEN?

NOT to sound like a cranky old stick in the mud or anything, but I can remember when pitching on three days' rest in the postseason was a given. I...

METS RESERVE SUBWAY SEAT:OUST CARDS, WAIT FOR YANKS

GAME 5 Mets 7 Cardinals 0 The 55,695 rocked Shea as the ball landed in Timo Perez' glove in center. Perez had just caught the final out of the NLCS...

LEITER, FRANCO FEEL THE FEVER

ALL that's at stake, really, is eternal bragging rights. Think about that for a second. That's what the Subway Series is all about. For the most part, the players don't...

GENIUS? NO, BIRD BRAIN: CARDS' LA RUSSA MISMANAGING MAC

HE PACES around the dugout like a tiger in a cage, his hands gripping a bat, one eye on the game and the other locked on to the manager, and...

CARDINALS WON'T HANG THEIR HEADS

St. Louis knew full well the task at hand. The Cardinals understood that only one team had ever come from 3-1 down in the NLCS to win. And they knew...

PHILLIPS, VALENTINE PLAYIN' FAMILY FEUD

STEVE Phillips, the Mets' current general manager, is under the impression that he will be the one negotiating the new contract for Bobby Valentine, the Mets' current manager. Both are...

WIN OR LOSE, CARDS HAVE MUCH SHUFFLING TO DO

Clearly St. Louis GM Walt Jocketty wanted to win last night's NLCS Game 5 as much as anybody in Shea Stadium. And he admitted how, late at night, human nature...

METS PLEASED MAC'S ON PINE

Every October series offers some surprising moments, and so far the biggest surprise is Tony La Russa has not been able to give pinch-hitter deluxe Mark McGwire key at-bats. The...

'EL' TO THE SERIES: SORRY, LOU, BUT PRESSURE'S NOT ON CHAMPS

GREED, for want of a better term, is good in the baseball postseason. Every win and every loss is so magnified by the shortness of a series and the microscope...

BUTCH: ISLES' PIVOTS GOTTA BE PIVOTAL

Before the Islanders' slow start turns into a panicked free fall and another playoff-less season, coach Butch Goring wants to light a fire under his sleepy club. Yesterday, he torched...

WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE?

QUARTERBACKS: B Vinny Testaverde (15-of-23, 139 yards) had a quietly efficient game in his return from the bulging disc/pinched nerve injury to his neck area. He made plays when the...

SEHORN COULD MISS AS MUCH AS A MONTH

The two most glaring, sensitive and potentially alarming aspects to the Giants' 19-14 victory over the Cowboys Sunday were the injury to Jason Sehorn and the benching of Amani Toomer....

HOW ARE THEY 5-2?

QUARTERBACKS: C It's a good thing Kerry Collins (14 of 25, 119 yards, 1 TD) had a running game to fall back on. Showed some poor instincts on intentional-grounding penalty...

DALUISO FACES FIGHT TO KEEP JOB

GIANT NOTES In the past, the Giants could count on Brad Daluiso to deliver long, booming kickoffs that at the very least reached the end zone and often carried well...

SCOTT: ALONZO'S ABSENCE MAKES HEAT VULNERABLE

ORLANDO - The concern, sympathy and prayers expressed by the Nets yesterday for Miami's Alonzo Mourning were genuine. But amid all the emotion was the sobering reminder that the NBA...

M'S TAKE AIM AT EL DUQUE

Rickey Henderson has a simple logic. Sure, Orlando Hernandez has never lost a playoff game, but, as Henderson says, "It just means it's about time for him to get beat....

WILLIAMSES, JENNY HONORED

"What an incredible estrogen experience!" Gatorade president Sue Wellington couldn't resist sharing her enthusiasm during her introduction at the Women's Sports Foundation's Sportswomen of the Year Awards yesterday. The 21st...

A-ROD NOT TRYING TO DO IT ALL

MARINER NOTES Alex Rodriguez admits he was trying to carry the Mariners on his back in September, but says he's putting less pressure on himself during the ALCS. "I felt...

BACKUP AT POINT DILEMMA FOR NETS

ORLANDO - Sure, there are more important matters for the Nets than who plays backup point guard to Stephon Marbury. After all, if there are a lot of minutes handed...

JUST ENJOY THE RIDE - WITH NO E-ZPASS TO SERIES, EXPECT FIREWORKS

THE Yankees are taking the local to the Subway Series. A year ago, they would have arrived early, chauffeured in a stretch. Now they are trying to squeeze in before...

WILPON: NEW-STADIUM TALKS REKINDLED

Mets co-owner Fred Wilpon's dream of a new retractable roof stadium is again being discussed by all the various parties - the government, the Mets, etc. - involved. The particulars...

YANKS PLAN TO RIDE 'EL' TO THE SERIES - LIKE THEIR CHANCES WITH HERNANDEZ ON HILL

They don't know how old he is and nobody seems to have a reason why the 1,000-watt smile and bubbly personality disappeared this season. All the Yankees care about when...

HALAMA HAS FAMILY, MATES ON HIS MIND

This ALCS has become a household affair for the Halama family. John Halama, who will start Game 6 tonight at The Stadium for the Seattle Mariners, spent the weekend with...

O'NEILL'S NOT THE ONLY ONE IN POST-SEASON FUNK

YANKEE NOTES Paul O'Neill is the first one to tell you he isn't happy with his October production. However, the struggling right fielder has company as he goes about trying...

TOTTENVILLE'S DAVIS HAS FUTURE MAPPED

The letters and phone calls come every day. Sometimes they are from Syracuse, other times from Connecticut or Wisconsin. Jayson Davis receives them all. "The main thing is I want...

AL'S MIDAS TOUCH IS GOOD AS GOLD

This hasn't neared the mystical status that Joe Torre has attained in this town, but through six games of his rookie NFL head coaching season, Al Groh has shown an...

BOMBERS ARE DONE WINGING IT - AIR TO THRONE TOOK 'EM 17,466 MILES IN 15 DAYS

They may not be wild about the hype that a Subway Series would deliver. However, the Yankees won't squawk about spending the World Series sleeping in their own beds and...

PAINFUL CONCLUSIONS COME WITH ZO ILLNESS

HARTFORD - It is still a delicate subject in the Knicks' locker room, but the reality is this: the Eastern Conference championship is the Knicks' for the taking now that...

SOWELL'S PLAY TRULY SPECIAL

JET NOTES His performance came about quietly, but a look at the stat sheet suggested anything but quiet. Jerald Sowell, a backup Jets running back who never gets to carry...

FISTS, NOT FEET, RUN FOUL ON BBC

LONDON - For a soccer highlights show, Scotland's BBC TV "Match of the Day" was packed with more punch than usual in its most recent edition this past weekend. Yes,...

NO-MOURNING HEAT LEFT WITH HUGE HOLE

ATLANTA - For years, the Heat's psyche has been irreparably bruised by post-season implosion. It now faces life - one season at a time, say doctors, in an effort, perhaps,...

BUTCH WANTS MORE FROM ISLES' PIVOTS

Before the Islanders' slow start turns into a panicked free fall and another playoff-less season, coach Butch Goring wants to light a fire under his sleepy club. Yesterday, he torched...

SHOULDER SHELVES PANDOLFO

The Devils will be without Jay Pandolfo tonight when they face the Thrashers at Atlanta's Philips Arena. The 25-year old left wing bruised his left shoulder in the Devils' 4-2...

QUINTAL: I COULDN'T PLAY MY GAME

Now that it's over, Stephane Quintal does have one regret. "The thing I regret about my time with the Rangers is that the people in New York never had the...

CAMBY, KNICKS TRIP UP WIZARDS

Hartford native Marcus Camby posted his second straight double-double - a team-high 16 points and 11 rebounds - as the Knicks moved to 3-0 in the preseason with a 95-90...

DUCKS COOK BLUESHIRTS

Ducks 4 - Rangers 3 So let's see: after 15:25 of play last night, not so much as a single Ranger shot on Anaheim's net. And let's see: after 29:37...

SORRY, LOU, BUT PRESSURE'S NOT ON CHAMPS

HOW strange. After all their brilliance of the last few years, the Yankees play tonight to keep up with the Bobby Joneses. For once they try to get to where...

TIMO TIME AGAIN: PEREZ STARTS, AND FINISHES, WIN

Rick Wilkins' fly ball was lofted to center. The final out was a moment away and Timo Perez couldn't help himself. He hopped, he skipped and he jumped to the...

WILPON: WE WANT THE YANKS

Mets co-owner Fred Wilpon is rooting for the Yankees in the ALCS. He wants to see the Subway Series. "I'm ecstatic," Wilpon said before last night's 7-0 win that put...

IT'S 'V' FOR VICTORY: NOW WHEN WILL MET BRASS COME THROUGH FOR BOBBY?

IN THE top of the sixth inning of the game that would put the Mets into the World Series, two guys sitting in the loge deck down the left-field line...

METS RESERVE SUBWAY SEAT ; HAMPTON GEM NAILS DOWN FIRST SERIES BERTH SINCE '86

Game 5 Mets 7 Cardinals 0 They were doing a victory lap that will be remembered forever. The Mets, the 2000 NL Champions, were running around Shea, throwing shirts to...

HOUSE OF CARDS CONDEMNED THEMSELVES

While the Cardinals watch the Mets play in next week's World Series at home in St. Louis, at least they won't have to search long and hard for the reasons....

VERES: WHY WOULD I HIT PAYTON?

The Cardinals wanted to provide just a bit of drama in Game 5 of the NLCS, but this wasn't exactly what they had in mind. Closer Dave Veres' eighth-inning beanball...

FORGIVING JAY: I OVERREACTED TO BEING HIT

Jay Payton tried his best to downplay the incident, saying his emotions had gotten the best of him after Cardinals closer Dave Veres beaned him in the eighth inning last...

PIAZZA SALUTES METS' ONE-FOR-ALL SPIRIT

Mike Piazza was in the middle of the celebration, spraying champagne to all fields, spraying champagne the way he sprays doubles, when he stopped to reflect on what getting to...

STEVE WON'T ALLOW TEAMS TO TAP BOBBY

MET NOTES GM Steve Phillips doesn't plan on relinquishing the Mets' exclusivity rights with manager Bobby Valentine for any team. "I think if anybody does, then they will not be...

MAGNIFICENT MIKE KNEW IT WAS HIS TIME TO SHINE

WHEN a modest man steps so far out of character as to predict great things of himself, it pays to listen. Mets left-hander Mike Hampton predicted the day before last...

ZEILE GETS PAYBACK - NOW WANTS YANKS

WHILE some champagne-soaked Mets were ambivalent, Todd Zeile made no bones about who he'll be rooting for tonight when the Yankees play the Mariners in Game 6 of the ALCS....

BENNY MAKES SPECIAL TRIP TO THANK SHEA FANS

It was a spontaneous show of emotion, a touchy-feely, flesh-and-blood thank-you note from Benny Agbayani to the Met fans who had cheered him and pulled for him and supported him....

FONZIE LIT FIRE UNDER METS

If the NLCS had a turning point, it was probably after Game 3 when the normally soft-spoken Edgardo Alfonzo criticized his team's effort in an 8-2 loss at Shea. Alfonzo...