September 25, 2001

IT'S OFFICIAL: CORCORAN TO CENDANT

Following an emotionally charged company meeting last Friday, Barbara Corcoran sent a memo to company employees yesterday announcing the sale of the Corcoran Group. The Post reported on Saturday that...

THE MARKETS ARE STILL GROSSLY OVERPRICED

ARE you feeling irrationally re-exuberant? Before you start following the herd back into the stock market, consider a few things. First, there was absolutely no fundamental reason why stock prices...

DOWNTOWN REBOUNDS FROM TRAGEDY

TWO weeks after the World Trade Center attack, one overriding truth emerges from the scramble for space among displaced tenants: The terrorists picked the wrong skyline to mess with. If...

BIZTRAVEL.COM GROUNDED AFTER WTC TERROR

It's business as usual in dot-com land, as the latest high-profile Web site bit the dust. BizTravel.com - an online travel agency aimed at "road warriors" - closed down late...

PENGUIN IS HATCHING 2 JOBS FROM GRANN'S EXIT

Phyllis Grann's job as president and CEO of Penguin Putnam, the second-largest U.S. publisher, will now be split between two execs following her surprise announcement that she is stepping down...

AOL TIME WARNER WON'T MAKE NUMBERS

The "Will they?" or "Won't they?" game is finally over. They won't. AOL Time Warner said yesterday 2001 revenue and profit will be less than forecast due to the decline...

NAPSTER, LABELS OK $36M LICENSING DEAL

Napster yesterday announced it has a licensing deal with the top American music publishers. Although still under the threat of litigation from the record labels who own the performance rights...

AIRLINE STOCKS RALLY ; BUT INDUSTRY FACED WITH ENORMOUS OBSTACLES

Beleaguered airlines stocks gained back some ground yesterday as buyers searched for bargains. Still, the industry is facing some daunting challenges. Analysts say the carriers' horizon will look a lot...

WOES MAY RETURN ; NEW NUMBERS COULD TURN RALLY TO ROUT

The buyers were back in a big way on Wall Street yesterday, but a slew of new economic numbers could still sink budding hopes for a quick economic turnaround. Bullish...

OFFICE RUSH BOOSTS REITS

Bolstered by the rush for office space, city office REITS have been holding most of their values, analysts say. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have already raised 2001/2002 estimates for...

PATH TO THE FUTURE: TRANSPORT HUB PROPOSED AT WFC

The owners of the World Financial Center want to rebuild the destroyed train hub beneath the World Trade Center across the street under the financial center's Winter Garden. As it...

TASTES OF TORONTO: A NATIVE'S RESTAURANT GUIDE TO THE BEST DEALS IN TOWN

IF you wanted to, you could go to Toronto - and dine extravagantly. After all, in this metropolitan city a nine-hour drive from Manhattan, there are more than 700 restaurants...

PA. HAS ITS DAY: 'PHILLY' AND 'THE GUARDIAN' IN A PENN STATE OF MIND

"Philly" Tonight at 10 on ABC/Ch. 7 "The Guardian" Tonight at 9 on CBS/Ch. 2 WHO knew Pennsylvania could be so dramatic? Apparently TV producers, that's who. From both ends...

EMERIL LITE; CHEF LOSES HIS SIZZLE IN SITCOM

Emeril Tonight at 8 on WNBC/Ch. 4 1/2 FOR reasons I hope never to know - but that I suspect come from a fear of new ideas - we're being...

TRAVELER'S UPDATE

October fest The Catskills lie just 90 miles north of N.Y.C., and the area is about to be ablaze in shades of yellow, orange and red. Adding another dimension to...

A NOSH FOR LAND OF NOD

IF you're having trouble sleeping, kiss off caffeine by 3 p.m. and lay off the fats and protein, experts say."Your best foods for sleeping are simple carbohydrates," says Joe Graedon,...

CITY EYES WIDE OPEN ; AFTER WTC TRAGEDY, SOME TIPS FOR BATTLING INSOMNIA

IN the best of times, New York City is a hotbed of insomnia.Now, in the grip of emotional, spiritual and even financial desperation, we're tossing and turning more than ever....

MORNING SHOWS OFF THE STREETS

ANOTHER piece of New York street-life that has been lost since the Sept. 11 attacks - the network morning TV shows are no longer venturing out of their street-level studios...

BROADWAY REVIVAL: CAST, CREW & FANS PULL TOGETHER

MANY New Yorkers heeded Mayor Giuliani's advice and took in a Broadway show this past weekend, breathing life into an industry that was on the verge of collapse after the...

SIBLING STORY MISSES WITH LACK OF DETAIL

THE LATE HENRY MOSSSignature Theatre, 555 W. 42nd St. Through Nov. 4. Call (212) 244-PLAY. TWO brothers meet at the home of a parent. One is academic, rational and ironic;...

BUZZ

Temper, temper Toddlers who tend toward frequent temper tantrums are more likely to have at least one criminal conviction later on, according to researchers at the U.K.'s University of Southampton....

'SURVIVOR' SURVIVES AIR CRASH

SURVIVOR 2" star Michael Skupin - who was badly burned when he accidentally fell into a camp fire in the Australian outback - survived a small plane crashed on the...

VEGA'S 'SONGS' HER BEST

SUZANNE VEGA "Songs in Red and Gray" A&M Records When you think of Suzanne Vega's image, it's hard to forget the pretty brunette folk waif singing her powerful song "Luka."...

LAWMAKERS: BID TO KEEP RUDY 'IS OVER'

Key legislators in Albany and New York City yesterday flatly rejected extending Mayor Giuliani's term - even as members of the mayor's inner circle split over whether he should try...

MESSAGE FROM THE RAT HOLE: BIN LADEN'S STATEMENT OF HATE

WASHINGTON - Terror master Osama bin Laden urged Pakistani Muslims to rise up against the "crusader Americans" yesterday as his Taliban hosts said they were mobilizing 300,000 troops to defend...

W. KICKS TERROR IN THE ASSETS

WASHINGTON - President Bush, vowing to wipe out Osama bin Laden's multimillion-dollar war chest for terror, yesterday declared the buck stops here. Bush froze the U.S. assets of 27 "most...

BRAVEST & FINEST MERIT BETTER PAY

IF OR when someone presumes to fill those giant shoes of Rudy Giuliani, he will have to start with a clear view of the city's recent and horrific history. And...

TROOPS ARRIVE IN AFGHAN-BORDER COUNTRIES

WASHINGTON - The first contingents of elite U.S. ground troops began arriving in central Asian countries bordering Afghanistan as preparations intensified yesterday for military operations against Osama bin Laden's terror...

BILL TELLS TEENS: DON'T BEND TO TERROR

Bill Clinton yesterday rallied city high-school students devastated by the World Trade Center disaster, urging them not to give in to terrorists. "They can only win if they get inside...

TV NETWORKS TRASH OR TOUCH UP IFFY EPISODES

Network TV is scrambling to alter shows dealing with terrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. In some cases, entire episodes have been yanked - or completely...

GIULIANI'S ALREADY WON THE REAL ELECTION

FOUR more years? A trickle of motivated New Yorkers is expected to dribble into the voting booth today to cast ballots in a primary nobody wants. Nobody, except for the...

HELPING KIN RECOVER: STATE & CITY SPEED UP DEATH CERTIFICATES

The city and state have joined forces to make it easier for families to get death certificates for loved ones missing in the World Trade Center rubble. Gov. Pataki signed...

ARAFAT ON ICE-BREAKING TRIP TO SYRIA

JERUSALEM - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat visits Damascus today, breaking a decade-old freeze with Syria. Israeli intelligence officials warn that the rapprochement could lead to closer ties between the Palestinians...

RALLY MASKS DANGER TIME

THE bull market came roaring back to life yesterday. Or did it? At first glance, it looked like investors were finally ready to put behind them last week's terrorist-sparked sell-off...

LEVY: HEED LESSONS FOR SCHOOL SECURITY

Schools Chancellor Harold Levy said the Board of Education needs to upgrade its security and evacuation plans following the World Trade Center tragedy. Levy said existing safety plans were not...

ANGRY JUDGE RAPS CYBERSEX LAWYERS

A judge yesterday scolded both sides in the Oliver Jovanovic "cybersex" kidnapping case, complaining she's "amazed" that everyone can't just come to an agreement, especially in light of the terrorist...

MEGA-FLAG FLIES AGAIN

The Stars and Stripes hang proudly in lower Manhattan. As police officers and soldiers saluted and all eyes looked skyward, an American flag the size of a basketball court was...

CANDIDATES KEEP IT QUIET JUST HOURS BEFORE PRIMARY

Yesterday may have been the quietest day before an election in city history. While polls for the postponed Democratic and Republican primaries open at 6 a.m. today, only one of...

OUR ALLIES' ART

LOOK at the photo to the right. It was taken Sunday in the city of Nablus on the West Bank - a city under the control of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian...

NEW DWI-COP FUROR: 4TH SLAY RAP STIRS DEBATE OVER BEGINNING OF LIFE

Pediatric trauma doctors squared off against the city's medical examiner earlier this month in an unusual grand jury proceeding in Brooklyn that led to the controversial indictment of DWI cop...

MANHATTAN POLLING SITES ALTERED

The city Board of Elections says it's ready to handle today's primary, despite grappling with reshuffled polling sites - and a work force and electorate distracted by the World Trade...

JITTERY TRAVELERS BACK ON 'TRACK'

Many Americans remain jittery about flying and being away from home for long periods of time - and the tourism industry is reeling because of it. Nancy Green, a home-products...

B'KLYN BRIDGE LANE OPENINGS THE LATEST COMMUTE BOOST

Vehicles on the southbound FDR Drive were allowed over the Brooklyn Bridge yesterday, as the city continued inching toward traffic normalcy. The move follows the Brooklyn Bridge's opening last week...

STOCKS BOUNCE BACK: DOW SOARS 368 ON DAY OF 'DAMAGE REPAIR'

Stocks rebounded yesterday as some bargain hunters decided to take advantage of opportunities left by last week's big sell-off. It was the first up day for U.S. stocks since the...

RED CROSS IS SET TO HAND OUT $100M

The Red Cross plans to announce today that it will disburse $100 million to the victims and survivors of the Sept. 11 attacks. Specific details about how the money will...

OUR CRIME NUMBERS CONTINUE TUMBLING

Led by a double-digit drop in murder, serious crime in New York continues to fall by more than 14 percent so far this year, Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik said yesterday....

UNITED AD OFFERS FLIGHT 'TRAINING'

Passengers aboard United Airlines jets this week got a shock when they were offered the chance to be a "pilot for a day" at the airline's flight training school. "Want...

WOULD-BE SUCCESSORS: HE'S GOT TO OBEY LIMITS

Candidates vying to succeed Mayor Giuliani yesterday had a message for the term-limited mayor: Your time is up! "Normalcy should include democracy and the resumption of constitutional regularity," said Democratic...

BRONX TEEN SHOT IN FACE

A 16-year-old boy shot another youth in the face yesterday near two Bronx schools, police said. Patrick Murray allegedly pulled out a gun and shot Adedoyin Olubummo, 18, on a...

FEAR OF FLYING HAS JETS HALF-FULL

Airplane traffic at local airports has bounced back to near-normal levels in some cases - but many of those planes are flying out half-empty. "Everybody's canceling, canceling, canceling. Arrgh! It's...

SEINFELD READY TO '$TAND-UP' FOR FUND

Jerry Seinfeld is going to bat for the Twin Towers Fund. The sitcom king will do a benefit comedy show at Carnegie Hall on Oct. 8, with all proceeds going...

PHONE SERVICE & RESTAURANTS COMING BACK

Phone service is being restored and restaurants in lower Manhattan are beginning to reopen. As the death toll in the World Trade Center tragedy continues to rise, there are growing...

EVERY PLAN TO LET HIM STAY HAS A REASON IT WON'T WORK

A range of long-shot scenarios of how Mayor Giuliani could remain in City Hall next year emerged yesterday - from the city's top lawmaker helping quash term limits, to Giuliani...

TELETHON RAISES $150M FOR VICTIMS' KIN

Last Friday's historic cross-network, star-studded telethon raised more than $150 million for the families of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. As of yesterday, pledges from "America: A Tribute...

FUROR OVER BREAK-UP OF FIRE SQUAD

An elite Brooklyn fire squad that lost 12 members in the World Trade Center attacks is being moved out of its old firehouse - and a former member and some...

350 PROBED & 400 WANTED: SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION BROADENS

Federal authorities have detained more than 350 people in their probe of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and they're still looking for nearly 400 others who may have information about...

BUCKS STOP HERE

President Bush launched his first strike against terrorism yesterday - a sweeping executive order designed to paralyze the "financial foundation" of Osama bin Laden's worldwide terror network. "Money is the...

GOING OUT COMES BACK: BOX OFFICE UP AS CITY BIZ STARTS REBOUND

Broadway ticket sales are inching up, and restaurants in lower Manhattan are beginning to reopen. As the death toll in the World Trade Center tragedy continues to rise, there are...

AMAZIN'S CAN'T LET UP VS. EXPOS

In the days since terrorism claimed thousands of lives and destroyed the World Trade Center, it is another building that has provided comfort and relief for New Yorkers. Shea Stadium...

A FIVE-GOAL HOLE IS TOUGH TO GET OUT OF

Devils 6 Islanders 5 On the day that the Islanders hosted their "Cool School Field Trip," the only thing that was at all cool was that everyone in the stands...

WHITTLE PLAYS THROUGH PAIN

Giants' OL Jason Whittle sat with Randy Drake while the construction worker was in critical condition in Bellevue Hospital after being hit with falling debris during the World Trade Center...

GIANTS PREPARING FOR EMOTIONAL HOMECOMING

For much of the NFL, the most difficult part of the league's layoff ended Sunday as teams went through emotional pregame ceremonies and played in front of fans who were...

JINTS' ROOKIE DBS HAVE IT COVERED

GIANT NOTES As relieved as all of the Giants were to have played well in their 13-3 win over the Chiefs on Sunday, two players were especially excited. "In Week...

METS AIN'T DEAD YET

THIS is a much different Mets team than the one that pranced through the first five months of the season. Look at these Mets now and there is a sense...

BERARD-TO-BLUESHIRTS HAS SOME HITCHES

Bryan Berard wants to be a Ranger. So said GM Glen Sather after yesterday's skate at Rye, confirming the desires of the injured defenseman, based on discussions with agent Tom...

HERM'S WORDS LIFT JETS

This was Saturday night, shortly past 9 o'clock. Herman Edwards sat by himself on a stoop outside the Hilton Hotel in Dedham, Mass., and pondered his team's immediate future in...

TUPA NOT GETTING PUNTED DESPITE POOR PERFORMANCE

JET NOTES There is concern about Tom Tupa's punting after his performance Sunday in Foxboro, but not enough that any changes are imminent. Tupa, who before the Jets' 10-3 win...

SCOTT: KITTLES MUST EARN STARTING SPOT

On paper, the Nets' projected starting backcourt seems set: Jason Kidd and Kerry Kittles. But on the floor, it could be different because coach Byron Scott reiterated yesterday that Kittles'...

AIR'S RETURN STILL ON HOLD ; JORDAN, WIZARDS PLAY WAITING GAME

The basketball world waited. And waited. Then waited a little more yesterday, anticipating word from Michael Jordan. And then . . . Nothing happened. No fax or issued statement through...

CONTENDERS & PRETENDERS ; DEVILS MAY DRAFT BACKUP FOR BRODEUR

Still waiting to be wowed by their rookie hopefuls, the Devils have until 2 p.m. today to deal for a veteran backup goalie before rosters freeze and bargains vanish in...

FRANCO MRI: NO DAMAGE

MET NOTES MONTREAL - The thought concerning John Franco's left elbow has been that rest would be the cure, but the tendinitis refused to leave. Yesterday, trying to learn if...

CLEMENS GOES FOR CLINCH: ROCKET, YANKS CAN WRAP UP EAST TONIGHT

Roger Clemens can't put his thick fingers around Osama bin Laden's gullet and squeeze the life out of the weasel. Mariano Rivera can't save fireman Timothy McSweeney's life. Derek Jeter...

TASTE OF OCTOBER MAY NOT BE FAR OFF FOR NEOPHYTE NICK

YANKEE NOTES Expect to see a lot of Nick Johnson the rest of the season. With Joe Torre hunting for a bat to add juice to a lineup that has...