October 11, 2001

WHICH COMPANIES WANT TO OWN AMEX?

THE gossip about the acquisition of American Express started at least three years ago. I went on an archeological dig through the files yesterday and came up with a story...

CONDO CONVERTED TO OFFICES

In the latest sign of post-terror turmoil in the real estate world, the developers of the 34-story luxury condo tower going up at 60 E. 55th St. plan to turn...

STELLA MCCARTNEY IS CALLED COPYCAT

Stella McCartney's made quite a splash with her debut collection under the Gucci Group's ownership. The fashion press has not been kind with its reviews for Paul's daughter - and...

MARTS ON THE MOVE - WAR WINS, LOW INVENTORIES SPARK RALLY

Good news from the war front and declining inventories sparked a big rally on Wall Street yesterday, bringing the benchmark Dow Jones industrial average within 4 percent of where it...

'GATSBY' MANSE OFF THE MARKET

THE auction of "Lands End," the real-life estate that inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald's fictional description of Daisy Buchanan's East Egg mansion in "The Great Gatsby," has been postponed until next...

GET LOST, OSAMA! - WALL ST. BOOSTS AIRLINE STOCKS AFTER THREAT

Investors aren't buying Osama bin Laden's big-mouth threats so readily anymore. Wall Street boosted airline stocks yesterday - giving a rousing flying bird to his latest airline terror boast. Just...

EU'S MINISTER MONTI LOCKSHORNS WITH GATES

Bill Gates has plenty of enemies already, but now he has a new, and especially nasty, one - EU antitrust czar Mario Monti. The two power brokers have locked horns,...

MEN'S CLOTHIER TO OPEN ON 5TH - HICKEY-FREEMAN LAUNCHING FLAGSHIP

After 102 years of business, menswear company Hickey-Freeman believes the time is right to open its first store. The company's debut and flagship store is slated to open at 666...

BAYER GETS BOOST FROM ANTHRAX FEAR

The worldwide run on anthrax antidote Cipro has put its maker, Bayer, on high alert to boost production - and sent its stock jumping. The pharmaceutical giant based in Germany...

'LINK" LOOKING FOR NEW VICTIMS

'WEAKEST Link" is holding open tryouts in New York on Sunday - looking for brave souls to square off against "Goodbye!" girl Anne Robinson. "New Yorkers are very smart and...

STARR REPORT

Rudy's ready for 'Survivor 3' Tough-as-nails "Survivor" contestant Rudy Boesch says the Sept. 11 attacks won't stop people from tuning into "Survivor 3," which kicks off tonight in Kenya (8...

TORI ON A GENDER BENDER

TORI AMOSThe Beacon Theater, Broadway and 74th Street, (212) 496-7070. Last concert in the series tonight at 8. TORI Amos is a stranger in a strange land.At her Beacon Theater...

SHIP 'SHAPE'

THE SHAPE OF THINGSAt the Promenade Theatre, 2162 Broadway at 76th Street. Call Telecharge, (212) 239-6200. AMERICA has a major, exciting, fresh new playwright. Neil LaBute is the first dramatist...

I STILL CAN'T WATCH; FOX ANCHOR REMEMBERS WTC TERROR, TEARS AND FEARS

WE all remember where we were when the Sept. 11 terrorists struck the World Trade Center. That fateful day holds an added dimension for Jon Scott, the Fox News Channel...

'SURVIVOR 3' WINNERS ARE...

WHAT is it with bartenders and reality shows? "Big Brother 2" had a few and now, "Survivor: Africa" has two as well. One of them is Brandon Quinton, 25, of...

DANCE-CLUB PLAYLISTS PLUG PATRIOTISM

DON'T be surprised if you hear the national anthem next time you go dancing. At nightclubs around town, DJ Eddie Baez has been cutting the national anthem and "God Bless...

SHATNER: I'M NOT A STINKER

WILLIAM Shatner did not emit a flatulent noise during the making of a new home video with Leonard Nimoy, insists the director of the video, Peter Jaysen. The sound, which...

ZAGAT ZIGS AND ZAGS: DINING FUIDE SCRAMBLES TO MAP A CHANGED RESTAURANT WORLD

SINCE Sept. 11, the complexion of the city has changed from day to day. That includes its massive restaurant scene and the arbiter of that scene, the Zagat guide. The...

FIGHT HATE: VOTE AGAINST FREDDY

THERE is one important reason to vote against Fernando Ferrer in today's mayoral runoff: To repudiate Al Sharpton. No other factor measures up. Not the Rev's role in a Ferrer...

FERRER CRYING RACISM IS DISGRACE-ISM

WAKE up, New York. Today is election day. This morning, as Al Sharpton's lackey, Fernando Ferrer, picks out curtains for Gracie Mansion, his people are showing what's in store for...

SINGING O.J. TUNES UP FOR TRIAL

O.J. Simpson wasn't talking yesterday as prospective jurors were being screened for his Miami road-rage trial, but he sure was singing. The notorious former grid great stepped up to the...

HEVESI & THE UNMAKING OF MAYOR GREEN

EVEN as Freddy Ferrer and Mark Green finally face off in today's Democratic mayoral runoff, I can't help thinking about Alan Hevesi and saying, "if only." It's not just that...

IOWA KIDS' 7G PUTS THE 'HEART' IN HEARTLAND

Most of the 2,400 folks who live in Hudson, Iowa, have never been to New York City, and some never will be - but this is one rural community that...

TRYING TO SELL DONATED AIR PURIFIERS REALLY STINKS

An outraged Battery Park City resident couldn't believe it when he saw a stack of donated HEPA air purifiers on sale at a Manhattan Duane Reade store - units that...

LENO REVS UP SPIRIT OF GIVING

Jay Leno loves his Harley-Davidsons and he loves New York. The lantern-jawed comic, who decided after Sept. 11 to auction off one of his prized motorcycles for charity, has earmarked...

COURT UPROAR AS ATT'Y TRIES TO TOSS CASE OVER TRAGEDY

An NYPD detective yesterday blasted a defense lawyer who tried to get federal charges against a bank-robbery suspect thrown out because the FBI agent on the case was killed in...

KIDS REACH OUT TO MUSLIMS

"We're all connected. We're all New Yorkers." Chris Rowton's message to the students of the Muslim Center Islamic School in Flushing was a welcome change from the many messages of...

CAR BAN EASED DOWNTOWN

TriBeCa businesses struggling to survive in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack got a break yesterday with word that all vehicles are being allowed into the area on...

NO, THEY WON'T HAVE WON

IT'S time to declare a permanent moratorium on the most annoying cliché of the post-Sept.11 world - because if we don't stop saying "then the terrorists will have won" in...

TRAGEDY OF TWIN TOWERS MADE CAMPAIGN SCHIZO

IT WAS a surprisingly boring campaign before Sept. 11 - and then, suddenly, there was no campaign at all. Now things are downright weird. Every aspect of the city was...

MR. PATAKI GOES TO WASHINGTON IN BIG-$$ PLEA

WASHINGTON - Gov. Pataki today pleads his case in front of Congress for aid to the state and city, amid growing signs that $34 billion more in bailout money won't...

ARAFAT ON HOT SEAT FOR PUTTING DOWN PROTESTS

Militant Islamic groups yesterday tore into Yasser Arafat's police as well as his leadership of the Palestinian Authority after Palestinian cops used force to put down a rally supporting Osama...

BLOOMBERG GETS BACK INTO GEAR

Republican mayoral hopeful Mike Bloomberg has been the man-in-waiting - now he's about to reclaim center stage with a fine-tuned theme. Since Sept. 25, when he handily defeated his primary...

OSAMA'S 'MUPPET' STATE

Will the beloved "Sesame Street" character Bert be the next name added to the FBI's list of most-wanted terrorists? With his oval head, bulbous nose, shaggy eyebrows and tiny tuft...

YOU COULD GET STUCK WITH TERROR-INSURE BILL

Taxpayers may have to foot the bill for commercial property owners' terrorism insurance because primary insurers are not renewing that coverage in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. Some...

SILENCE TO MARK THE MOMENT A MONTH AGO

With tears, prayers and candles, New Yorkers - like all brokenhearted Americans - will solemnly mark the somber one-month anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and...

ARREST IN TEEN'S '96 SLAY

A bizarre Long Island recluse has been charged with the 1996 strangulation of his neighbor, beautiful 16-year-old honors student Kristen Scarabelli, police said yesterday. The break in the investigation came...

THE OTHER TIEBREAKER: BETSY VS. NORM

The race for public advocate - second in line to the mayor - comes down to a choice today between a former parks commissioner and a civil libertarian. Without a...

CITY KIDS FLAGGING IN SCHOOL 'PLEDGE'

President Bush will rally schoolkids 'round the flag tomorrow by leading a nationwide recital of the Pledge of Allegiance - but it might not fly in New York schools. Not...

L.I. COPS HUNT 'GRINCH' INTRUDER

Cops say this is the "Grinch" - a knife-wielding intruder who broke into a Long Island home and terrorized a young mom and her mother. Cops released the sketch yesterday...

OSAMA TOPS BUSH 'TERROR 22' LIST - PREZ VOWS MURDEROUS BUNCH IS ONLY A START

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday named America's "most wanted terrorists" - a list of 22 alleged killers that includes Osama bin Laden and members of Lebanon-based Hezbollah. Bush said the...

ED. BOARD PREZ: GIVE EDUCRATS RAISES FIRST

The president of the Board of Education is pushing to boost the salaries of the school system's 540 administrators before teachers get their raises. The United Federation of Teachers, which...

CANTOR WILL INSURE FAMILIES

Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick yesterday announced that kin of the more than 700 of his employees lost in the trade center attacks will get health insurance for 10 years...

TEENS ADMIT TO HORRIBLE TORCH SLAY

Two teenagers pleaded guilty yesterday to setting a homeless man on fire in Chelsea, burning him over 72 percent of his body. Walter Eakman, 47, died a painful death in...

TWO MORE IN-FLIGHT INCIDENTS

Airline jitters increased yesterday as yet another plane was escorted by fighter jets after an incident in its cabin. Also yesterday, a man was charged in Newark with disorderly conduct...

CLINTON OFFERS 'POOR' EXCUSE FOR TERRORISTS

TURNS out that former President Bill Clinton is one of those who thinks the terrorists are somehow suffering from economic deprivation - even if Osama bin Laden is a Saudi...

BUSTS HALT MORE KAMIKAZE HIJACKINGS

Egyptian anti-terrorist police have foiled a second wave of suicide hijacker attacks - this one against "various world capitals." The plot was thwarted through the arrest of 12 al Qaeda-linked...

2 AIRLINES FACE SUITS IN TRAGEDY

The first lawsuits from the World Trade Center attack may be on the way - from Germany. A Munich-based lawyer said yesterday he is working with relatives of European victims...

BLOOD CLOT PUTS GOTTI IN HOSPITAL

Cancer-stricken mob boss John Gotti was rushed to a hospital this week with a life-threatening blood clot, The Post has learned. Gotti's condition worsened because staff at the U.S. Medical...

RUNOFF WILL TAKE ONE OFF - TODAY'S TURNOUT VITAL FOR MARK AND FREDDY

On the final day of a contentious campaign, mayoral rivals Mark Green and Fernando Ferrer yesterday turned their attacks down a notch and urged people to vote in today's Democratic...

COMMANDOS MOVE OUT - ELITE UNITS WILL SOCK AL QAEDA

WASHINGTON - U.S. Special Forces commandos and other elite Army units were on their way to the Afghanistan region last night as Pentagon officials prepared to launch the next -...

FEDS: OSAMA TV VIDEOS MIGHT HIDE ATTACK CODES

A "specific" concern prompted one of President Bush's top aides to warn TV networks that Osama bin Laden's videos could be broadcasting coded messages to call terror cells into action,...

HEIR NABBED IN SLAY - DURST'S NEIGHBOR FOUND BUTCHERED

Real-estate scion Robert Durst - under a cloud of suspicion in the mysterious disappearance of his wife 19 years ago - has been busted in Texas for allegedly killing and...

3RD TABLOID WORKER HIT WITH ANTHRAX

A third employee of a Florida supermarket-tabloid publishing company tested positive for anthrax yesterday, and the case is now the subject of a federal criminal investigation. The third victim is...

U.S. THUNDERBOLT - U.S. READYING SPECIAL FORCES COMMANDOS TO ATTACK; ONE-MONTH MEMORIAL SERVICES AT ST. PAT'S, GROUND ZERO; VOTERS HEAD TO POLLS TODAY TO PICK GREEN OR FERRER

On the eve of the one-month commemoration of the Sept. 11 terror strikes, the United States launched its mightiest attack in Afghanistan - a thunderous prelude to a daring second...

HER NYPD ANGEL - GIRL KNOWS HERO DAD IS IN HEAVEN

Some city youngsters are drawing pictures of planes crashing into the Twin Towers; others sketch Old Glory being raised at ground zero. Eight-year-old Katie McDonnell's pictures are of an angel...

BLACK(BURN) AND BLUE: RANGERS ABANDON ROOKIE NETMINDER

Capitals 5Rangers 2 This is what you need to know about the Rangers' 5-2 Garden loss to the Caps last night: 18-year-old Dan Blackburn, the fourth-youngest goaltender in NHL history,...

ANTHRAX ANXIETY OVER LIVESTOCK

State officials yesterday sent out letters to veterinarians and farmers warning them to stay alert for signs of anthrax in animals, particularly those that provide food. The letter - which...

ROG EXITS LIMPING IN BOMBER 'L' : TIGHT HAMSTRING KOS CLEMENS IN 5TH INNING; YANKS FALL IN 1-0 HOLE

GAME 1A's 5Yankees 3 Their arms resemble stretched dock rope. Their hands are callused from hard work. Together they formed an A's choke hold around the Yankees' throat last night...

HOWE: ME AND MY BIG MOUTH!

Oakland manager Art Howe stirred controversy Tuesday afternoon when he said, "It's going to take a great series from the Yankees to have a shot to beat us." Yesterday, Howe...

BOSS: UMPS BLEW GAME

It is October so there is no surprise that George Steinbrenner is seeing red about the Men in Blue. Yesterday, he was furious about three calls before the sixth inning...

PETTITTE READY TO PITCH IN

Andy Pettitte struggled down the stretch this season, missed a start with a bruised elbow, and was drilled the last time he faced Oakland in the postseason - on three...

HUDSON'S HAD SMOOTH SAILING SO FAR

Tim Hudson was musing about the state of his team the other day. "It's exciting to think we're going to be together for a while," the Oakland right-hander said Tuesday....

TURNABOUT IS GOOD PLAY

Last week, we noted that handicappers often rely too heavily on a horse's last race to figure its chances today. They fail to take into account excuses the horse might...

HATCHETTE JOB ; SILENT JET WR MUST STEP UP VS. DOLPHINS

Matthew Hatchette, where are you? Sunday against the Dolphins at Giants Stadium would be a great day for you to show up with your best game as a Jet, because...

JETS MAKE FAIR CATCH WITH YEAST

JET NOTES The carousel of punt returners wearing a Jets uniform incredibly continued to turn yesterday with the signing of Craig Yeast. Yeast, in his third season after being selected...

CLEMENS CONTRIBUTES

Roger Clemens is stepping up to the mound for Mayor Giuliani's Twin Towers Fund. The Yankees' star pitcher is auctioning two custom cars he owns, a Mercedes and a Porsche....

GIANTS & REDSKINS GIVE UP THE NIGHT

The Oct. 28 game between the Giants and Redskins in Washington, originally scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN, has been changed to a 4:05 p.m. start because that...

RAMS ARE TEST OF WILLS ; JINTS' ROOKIE CORNERS ACCEPT CHALLENGE

He was not looking to overstep his bounds, but Sam Garnes couldn't help but play amateur general manager yesterday when explaining why Will Allen and Will Peterson, the two rookie...

MARTIN NEEDS HELP AT CHARITY STRIPE

On his first attempt, Kenyon Martin stepped to the foul line, stood a little off-center, peered at the basket 15 feet away and promptly launched a 14-footer. "It wouldn't have...

JAGR'S CAPITAL GAIN: FIVE YEARS, $55M

While the official version is that Jaromir Jagr and the Caps are closing in on a five-year, $55 million contract extension that will keep No. 68 in DC through 2006-2007,...

WINLESS DEVILS ARE GETTING DEFENSIVE

They've spent this week smarting. The Devils should have spent it smartening up, too. Resuming their schedule with their home opener tonight against the Islanders, the Devils have had five...

DEREK'S GOTTA DRIVE THE PINSTRIPED BUS: AS JETER'S BAT GOES, SO GO YANKS' CHANCES

His most pedestrian season in four years is over. When the Yankees and A's opened the ALDS last night at Yankee Stadium, it was time for Derek Jeter to hoist...

KNICKS MUST FILL LJ'S VOID

Their co-captain has retired, leaving a leadership void. Their starting center has plantar fasciaitis, potentially leaving a void in the middle bigger than the Grand Canyon. Their preseason opener Tuesday...

STILL ASTRO-DOOMED ; BIG THROWING ERROR AND TOO-SHORT SHOT PUT BRAVES UP 2-0

GAME 2Braves 1Astros 0 HOUSTON - The difference between the Astros and the Braves spun in the air during the fifth inning yesterday. Down a run, Brad Ausmus slammed what...

ENRON FANS GIVE LUGO AN EARFUL

NLDS NOTES HOUSTON - They can be sarcastic in Texas, too, just ask Brooklyn's Julio Lugo. In the fourth, Lugo caught a routine popup at short. The crowd cheered. There...

JORDAN'S REVERSE FAKES OUT FANS

Once again, Michael Jordan changed his mind. Jordan pulled out of the Wizards' first two exhibition games, including tonight's meeting against the Pistons in Auburn Hills, Mich., and then a...

EVEN IN DEFEAT, ICHIRO LIVES UP TO HIS NAME

SEATTLE - Ichiro is on a first-name basis with the game of baseball, following the greatest how-do-you-do season in history. He broke Joe Jackson's 90-year-old record for hits by a...

BOSS, GM CLOSE TO PACT

According to several sources, George Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman are closer to a contract extension than The Boss and Joe Torre. That, however, doesn't mean Steinbrenner and Torre won't...

JAGR PACT WORTH $55M

While the official version is that Jaromir Jagr and the Caps are closing in on a five-year, $55 million contract extension that will keep No. 68 in DC through 2006-2007,...

ISLES' COMEBACK WIN A GRAND ACHIEVEMENT

Islanders 6Penguins 3 PITTSBURGH -The Islanders got the 1,000th victory in franchise history the old fashioned way. They earned it. The Isles came back from a 3-1, second-period deficit before...

MECIR SIDESTEPS DISASTER

Jim Mecir made one pitch he wanted to have back. But the Oakland reliever would have had to climb the fence in right-center to retrieve it. Mecir, a Queens native,...

'O,' THE YANKS ARE IN TROUBLE

TO INVIGORATE his lineup, Joe Torre went back to Plan A. He assembled the nine men he had envisioned using most often this season, albeit with Paul O'Neill as the...

ROCKET'S FAILURE BAD SIGN FOR YANKS

OF all the things that can go wrong when Roger Clemens is on the mound, the last thing you expect to crumble is the foundation. A checkup from the neck...

MULDER MOUNDS OF TROUBLE

After 110 pitches, he was done. Oakland's Mark Mulder had turned the Yankees into a bunch of Pony Leaguers in their home ballpark during his postseason debut. Most of them,...

HOWE RIGHT HE TURNED OUT TO BE

CALL Art Howe's remark about what the Yankees would need to do to beat the A's ill-timed, ill-advised or even ill-mannered. You can even call it stupid. Why not? He...

SORIANO: PRESSURE, WHAT PRESSURE?

One could hardly blame a 23-year-old rookie playing in his first post-season game for being awed by the Yankee Stadium aura and daunted by the October pressure. But if you...

SLUGGING A'S PLAY LONG BALL

It's easy to get lost in the Oakland lineup. And somehow, Terrence Long has been the forgotten man this season. But Long stepped up in Game 1 of the ALDS...

THE PINSTRIPED BUS: FUN-LOVIN' A'S NO GASHOUSE GANG - BUT THEY'RE SURE A GAS

PARDON the A's if they don't embrace the idea that wearing major-league uniforms means they must conduct themselves at all times with gravity befitting nuclear physicists. Many major-leaguers think that...

JOE PUTS FAITH IN YANK TRUST FUND

YANKEE scouts, headed by Gene Michael, provided each of the team's coaches and Joe Torre a green loose-leaf that made you think of a fat guy trying to fit into...

JUSTICE PREVAILS IN RIGHT FOR TORRE

David Justice started just 14 games in the outfield this year, an injury-plagued season that left his confidence hurting as badly as his sore left groin. But with Paul O'Neill...

SOJO MAKES THE CUT

ALDS NOTEBOOK Luis Sojo wasn't shocked, but he admitted to being surprised when he was part of Joe Torre's 25-man ALDS roster. "When you are hearing for two weeks or...

ANOTHER POSTSEASON OF WITHER? YANKS CAN'T AFFORD A'S TO HAVE ROCKET IN THEIR POCKET AGAIN

AT 39, Roger Clemens has had the kind of season few Yankee pitchers have ever had, at any age. He was good early and he was good late. He was...

ANDY'S FEELIN' DANDY

Andy Pettitte struggled down the stretch this season, missed a start with a bruised elbow, and was drilled the last time he faced Oakland in the postseason - on three...

SMOOTH SAILING SO FAR FOR HUDSON

Tim Hudson was musing about the state of his team the other day. "It's exciting to think we're going to be together for a while," the Oakland right-hander said Tuesday....

OAKLAND HOPES COULD BE DO OR DYE

Yankee fans might remember Jermaine Dye. He's the former Atlanta outfielder who hit 2-for-17 in the 1996 World Series. Dye, who has always owned a wealth of five-tool potential, was...

ISLES ENJOYING LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE

PITTSBURGH - The Penguins were calling last night's home clash with the Islanders a must-win game. For the Islanders, the new mentality is that these games are all must-wins. Though...

BLACKBURN THRUST INTO FIRE

Let's see ... at the Garden ... national ESPN game ... Jaromir Jagr ... Ron Low sure chose a soft spot in the schedule in which to get 18-year-old neophyte...