April 10, 2002

VERIZON PROFITS WIPED OUT BY WRITE-DOWNS IN 1ST QUARTER

Verizon's stock slumped yesterday after the local telephone company admitted its first-quarter profit was wiped out by $2.5 billion in write-downs for bad investments and acquisitions. The stock fell $1.51...

NEW OWNERS TO RELAUNCH ESPRIT

Esprit has a new spirit - and a slew of new offerings for the U.S. The U.S. company was recently acquired by Esprit Holdings Ltd., owners of the Esprit brand...

AT&T BUILDING IS SOLD TO SONY

SONY has quietly bought one of the city's finest structures, paying $236 million for the "Chippendale" building at 550 Madison Ave. from beleaguered AT&T. Philip Johnson and John Burgee designed...

STREET FIRMS' LIABILITY COULD BE HUNDREDS OF MILLION$

Merrill Lynch and Wall Street's other top brokerages could face liability worth hundreds of millions of dollars following the state's unprecedented crackdown on stock hyping. Merrill was targeted yesterday by...

O.K. ON THE LIGHTERS BUT NO NEEDLES

WASHINGTON - The world's largest concert promoter, Clear Channel Entertainment, was sued yesterday by the Justice Department for refusing to let diabetic fans take medical supplies into shows. The feds,...

DUNCAN SINGS : CPA'S PLEA DEAL LEAVES ANDERSEN CORNERED

Arthur Andersen was dealt a major blow as its former lead Enron accountant, David Duncan, admitted to shredding the swaggering energy giant's documents to keep them out of the hands...

BRESLIN TARGETS PRIESTS

JIMMY Breslin is the latest to tackle with a new book the sex scandal and cover-up gripping the Catholic Church. He just inked a six-figure deal with the Crown imprint...

ÉLAN FOR ALL SEASONS

FIFTY SEVEN FIFTY SEVEN ½ FOUR SEASONS HOTEL 57 E. 57TH ST. (212) 758-5757 ONE night at Fifty Seven Fifty Seven, the charming captain tells us he's Egyptian. "Are you...

PIPE DREAM

WHEN a five-alarm fire ravaged Manhattan's Central Synagogue nearly four years ago, the music died, too: Lost in the ashes was the Reform congregation's organ, crushed under a fallen beam....

SOUND USE OF 25G

ECHOES 1/2 Atmospheric East Village tale.Running time: 72 minutes. Not rated. At the Two Boots Pioneer Theater, Avenue A at East Third Street. LESLIE, the focal point of the low-budget...

BIZET BODY IN SENEGAL FILM

KARMEN GEI Vibrant reworking of the Carmen legend.In French and Wolof, with English subtitles. Running time: 82 minutes. Not rated (nudity, sex). At Film Forum, Houston Street, between Sixth Avenue...

LOU'S BACK - TWICE

WALL street whiz Louis Rukeyser has landed at CNBC and is back on PBS at the same time. The move ends weeks of speculation about the future of the former...

THERE'S A NEW ZEAL FOR NEW ZEALAND WINE

IS there more good wine or bad wine?After a fair amount of research, I've discovered there's lots of both and plenty of in-between, too.Wine is inconsistent. Good wines have bad...

ALLEGORY IS LOST IN 'ANDORRA'

ANDORRAAt the Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher St. Call TeleCharge, (212) 239-6200. 'ANDORRA" is an allegorical play written by Swiss dramatist Max Frisch in 1961 in which, with two exceptions,...

STARR REPORT

Breaking news . . . breaking water Ch. 4 says it was the first local station to break the "Blind Sheik" story yesterday at 11:55 a.m. - and the only...

BAD GUYS ARE WINNING: 'THE SHIELD' IS VIOLENT - BUT IT'S ALSO GREAT TELEVISION

I HAVE to agree with the watchdogs like the Parents Television Council who say "The Shield" is a really violent show. It sure is. In fact, this series about rough-and-tough...

POTBOILER ON THE MENU

PUBLISHERS are hungrily bidding on another restaurant tell-all, hoping to equal the success of chef Anthony Bourdain's behind-the-stove exploits in "Kitchen Confidential." The cleavers and knives should fly when former...

A NEW VIEW? VIEIRA COULD GIVE 'EARLY SHOW' A JOLT

IF CBS breaks the traditional early-morning mold, "The Early Show" could evolve into a version of ABC's coffee-table chatfest, "The View." Especially since "The View" co-host Meredith Vieira, an ex-CBS...

SMILE AND SAY CHEESE-STEAK SANDWICH AT LUNCH PLACE

BB SANDWICH BAR 120 W. THIRD ST. (BETWEEN MACDOUGAL STREET & SIXTH AVENUE) (212) 473-7500 IT was meant to be an in-between job.Gary Thompson opened BB Sandwich Bar about a...

RICH SHOW, POOR SHOW

THIS is a tale of two plays, their box offices and their futures.One play got rave reviews and a Pulitzer. The other got terrible reviews and stands no chance of...

DRY RUN: RESTAURANTS (AND THIRSTY CUSTOMERS) SCRAMBLE TO DEAL WITH DROUGHT

WHEN we think of dry towns, we usually don't include this one. But that's changing since Mayor Bloomberg declared a drought emergency. The Four Seasons' pool is a flowery pit....

BLOOMBERG AND NYPD

Mayor Bloomberg dismissed a report yesterday that the city was considering a federal judge to monitor the NYPD's stop-and-frisk actions as part of any civil-rights settlement stemming from the police...

CORRECTION OFFICER GUNNED DOWN

A correction officer was shot to death last night as he sat inside his car in Brooklyn, police said. The officer, 35, was shot four times in his white sedan,...

RUDY'S PET PROJECTS COME UNDONE

THE timing couldn't have been worse for Mike Bloomberg. Just as his mayoral campaign was picking up steam late last year, Rudy Giuliani was telling New Yorkers he needed 90...

TOKE'S ON THESE HUMORLESS JERKS

LIKE Mayor Bloomberg, former President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, former Rep. Newt Gingrich, Gov. Pataki, and others I can't remember, much less care about, I've smoked marijuana....

BANKS CASH IN ON ATMS

You're supposed to get money out of an automated teller machine but, according to a consumer group, a huge amount of money flows the other way - in the form...

JEWS OBSERVE HOLOCAUST DAY

Jews around the world observed Holocaust Remembrance Day yesterday, lighting candles for the 6 million who died and listening to survivors recall the horrors they endured. In New York, 250...

BIBI: OUST ARAFAT AND MAKE WAY FOR DEMOCRACY

Israel should have expelled Yasser Arafat more than a year ago and now must "destroy" his regime and clean terrorism out of Palestinian-occupied land, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said...

SAUDIS GIVE SADDAM CRUDE AWAKENING

WASHINGTON - Saddam Hussein's campaign to organize an oil boycott all but fizzled yesterday when Saudi Arabia agreed to make up for the Iraqi shortfall to stabilize prices. After two...

THE MIDEAST MISREAD ; WHAT OF ARAB DEFIANCE?

FOR the past week, press coverage of Israel's military strike at Yasser Arafat's terror infrastructure has stressed one thing: Ariel Sharon's continuing "defiance" of President Bush. In fact, there are...

NAME YOUR PARTY POSSE NOW, JUDGE TELLS LIZZIE

Name names! The Manhattan judge overseeing Lizzie Grubman's civil trial has given the spin princess 30 days to turn over the names of the people she partied with and reveal...

MAYOR MIKE AND MARIJUANA

Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday he regrets telling a magazine last year he tried and "enjoyed" marijuana - but he added that he always tells the truth. "I never lie. So,...

FIRE HERO'S FINAL VISION SET TO ROLL

Rescue 1 Captain Terence Hatton helped design a new model for a firetruck just months before he died trying to save lives in the World Trade Center terror attack. Tomorrow,...

KMART KOS TABLOID FOR BLAST AT MARTHA

Kmart has yanked from its racks a supermarket tabloid that skewers Martha Stewart in a cover story slicing and dicing the merchandising maven as "Martha the Monster," The Post has...

TORCH VICTIM AIR FORCE VET

A destitute man set ablaze by kids while he slept in a Bronx hallway once served with the Air Force in Vietnam and was the pride of his family. Now,...

PATH REBUILDERS WAITING FOR WTC PLAN TO PROCEED

Plans for a new downtown PATH station and transit hub can't be completed until details are worked out for what will go above ground at the site of the destroyed...

ARIEL FUMES AS POWELL PLANS TO MEET YASSER

Secretary of State Colin Powell yesterday said he intends to meet Yasser Arafat later this week - prompting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to say that's a "tragic mistake." And...

STATE OF D.A.-NIAL : NASSAU PROSECUTOR: 'NOT A BIG PROBLEM'

Nassau County's district attorney yesterday said state legislators should reconsider forcing clergy to report sexual abuse of kids to authorities - insisting that very few priests molest children and that...

BOARD OF EDUCATION TAKES ACTION

The Board of Education will break up nine low-performing high schools and replace them with 24 smaller schools as part of a reform plan to boost student performance. Nineteen of...

ARCHDIOCESE HOLY-ROLLS OUT ITS BIG GUNS

THE Archdiocese of New York whipped out two gold-plated .357 Magnums yesterday. It had big-shot lawyers riding shotgun when its counsel, James McCabe, had a showdown with eight area district...

OFFICIAL PLEADS FOR GIFT OF LIGHTS

Downtown rebuilding czar John Whitehead yesterday asked businesses to donate $100,000 to keep the Tribute of Lights burning beyond this weekend, when it is scheduled to go dark. The plea,...

CITY TEACHERS CLOSE IN ON 10% SALARY BOOST

City Hall and the head of the teachers union yesterday praised a state labor panel's recommendations for settling their long-standing contract dispute. State mediators recommended that Mayor Bloomberg give teachers...

SLAY VICTIM'S WIDOW TELLS OF FINAL DAY

Rubina Malik sobbed on the witness stand as she told how her murdered husband, a man with whom she'd fled Pakistan and defied an arranged marriage, believed America would protect...

MUSEUM ACCIDENT KILLS MAN

A construction foreman working on the expansion of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park City died yesterday in a freak accident after a steel beam fell and crushed...

ROOKIE MAYOR SHOWS PROMISE ; MIKE SCORES POINTS IN 1ST FORAY INTO GOV'T

Mike Bloomberg, a Wall Street visionary who built one of the nation's most profitable enterprises, says he wouldn't mind following the career path of a well-known former White House official....

NYPD TO SCUTTLE 'DIALLO' COP UNIT

The NYPD is disbanding its Street Crime Unit, which came under the glare of a national spotlight when four of its cops killed unarmed street peddler Amadou Diallo in a...

DOWNTOWN'S NEW BLUEPRINT ; AGENCY'S PLANS INCLUDE MEMORIALS, PARK

The city-state agency overseeing Ground Zero yesterday outlined its vision for the World Trade Center site - including "one or more" memorials. The "blueprint" released by the Lower Manhattan Development...

FUGITIVE NABBED IN BRONX COP-SLAY

An alleged cop-killer who had been on the lam since Easter Sunday was finally captured in Florida yesterday, police said. Luis Alberto Gomez Gonzalez, 26, who was wanted for stabbing...

THE JAILHOUSE JIHAD ; U.S. LAWYER IN SHEIK'S TERROR NEST: FEDS

A radical American lawyer and a ragtag band of associates helped imprisoned blind terror sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman smuggle communiqués out of prison, federal authorities charged yesterday. Abdel-Rahman, serving a life...

ACCUSED ATTORNEY IS A CAREER RADICAL

Accused terrorist helper Lynne Stewart looked more like Mother Hubbard than Ma Barker in court yesterday. The dowdy, 62-year-old lawyer laughed with her attorney, Susan Tipograph, as she waited for...

L.I. COP MAKES FIERY RESCUE

A hero cop braved a burning car wreck to save an unconscious woman from the flames that consumed her vehicle after an accident on Long Island early yesterday. Suffolk Highway...

BRIBE JUDGE LAWYER NOT DIRTY: DA

Prosecutors say the lawyer who helped them nail a judge accused of taking a bribe was not an accomplice to the alleged crime despite waiting more than six months to...

RUDY'S AIDE $TUCK IT TO CITY: REPORT

A former Giuliani administration official, the son of a powerful political boss, spent an astonishing $250,000 on fancy meals, spa stays and personal shopping sprees while he was on the...

STRAY BULLET KILLS WOMAN, 66

A 66-year-old woman died last night, an innocent bystander caught in a mysterious shooting around the corner from her Brooklyn home, police said. Gloria Aiken Logan died at about 10:30...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Cheryl Haas' wedding invitations were an RSVP for chaos. Haas, who plans to marry June 29 on a Wyoming beach, thought white grains of sand tucked inside the invites were...

FIREWORKS FIRMS BALLISTIC

Mayor Bloomberg's plan to lift the post-Sept. 11 prohibition on Big Apple fireworks celebrations is expected to warm New Yorkers' hearts on July 4 - but fireworks industry officials are...

GOV. RAPPED FOR 'POLITICAL' LETTER

ALBANY - A day after telling The Post he will remove himself next month from state ads, Gov. Pataki came under fire for spending taxpayer money on a letter his...

COUNCIL BOSS BATTLES MIKE ON TAX PLAN

City Council Speaker Gifford Miller will take his plan to raise taxes for the benefit of education directly to New Yorkers in the hope that public pressure will force Mayor...

MAYOR BLOOMBERG AND MARIJUANA

Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday he regrets telling a magazine last year he tried and "enjoyed" marijuana - but he added that he always tells the truth. "I never lie, so...

VILE VIDEOCAM THIEVES UNWELCOME WEDDING GUESTS

Crooks are crashing Long Island wedding receptions, stealing camera equipment and the precious memories of blubbering brides, cops said yesterday. A rash of similar thefts has been plaguing receptions in...

FANS MY SEE YANKS - BUT ON COURT TV

Diehard Yankee fans are hoping a federal judge on Long Island will play umpire and order Cablevision to begin carrying Bronx Bomber games. Lawyer Leonard Leeds, who has filed a...

TERROR BLAST ON ISRAEL BUS: UP TO 10 DIE HOURS AFTER AMBUSH KILLS 13 SOLDIERS

JERUSALEM - A terror explosion ripped through a bus east of Haifa today, killing as many as 10 people and leaving dozens wounded. Officials reported between seven and 10 deaths...

PALESTINIAN KILLER LURES ISRAELIS INTO DEATH TRAP

JERUSALEM - A Palestinian suicide bomber ambushed Israeli troops in a West Bank refugee camp yesterday, setting off a well-planned trap that killed 13 soldiers. The incident at Jenin and...

THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE: ACCUSED ATTORNEY IS A CAREER RADICAL

Accused terrorist helper Lynne Stewart looked more like Mother Hubbard than Ma Barker when she was hauled into court yesterday. The dowdy, 62-year-old defense lawyer smiled and laughed with her...

CLASSROOM EXTRA - WOMEN AT THE WHEEL

ABSTRACT: Classroom Extra concludes its celebration of Women's History Month and the New York Auto Show with a look at the pivotal role women have played in the history and...

'FOR YOU, GRANDMA' : WHITE DELIVERS HOMER FOR CANCER-STRICKEN KIN

TORONTO - On his way out into a Canadian night with Derek Jeter, Rondell White placed a call to Gray, Ga., to talk to his grandmother, Tessie Pitts. "Going to...

TORRE HOPES BERNIE'S BAT IS HEATING UP

YANKEE NOTES TORONTO - Joe Torre saw signs in batting practice that Bernie Williams could be coming out of his April funk. "He looked locked in tonight," said Torre, who...

JUST LIKE OLD TIMES AT GOODBYE FOR EW: KNICKS FALL AS GARDEN BIDS ADIEU TO PATRICK

Magic 108 Knicks 97 With five seconds left, Orlando in front comfortably and the entire Garden begging for Patrick Ewing to get the ball one more time, Tracy McGrady dumped...

EWING JR. HOPES DAD WON'T STOP

Patrick Ewing Jr., Ewing's son who served as ballboy last night on the Orlando bench, thinks his old man has it in him to play one more season. "He loves...

DEC CAMPS GET CHILDREN INTO NATURE

YOUNGSTERS can develop their skills in a range of outdoor activities, from fishing, birdwatching and fly tying to canoeing, camping and orienteering, at this summer's Environmental Education Camps. The programs,...

WOOD IS TESTING GROUND

With the May 4 Kentucky Derby a stone's-throw away, an already hard-to-solve puzzle gets more confusing by the day. Two-year-old champ Johannesburg is questionable after suffering his first career defeat...

TIGER MOTIVATED BY NEW CHALLENGE

AUGUSTA - We'll never really know the pressure Tiger Woods endured as he chased history at Augusta National last year to become the only modern-day player to consecutively hold all...

FOR DALY, IT'S A LONG ROAD BACK

AUGUSTA - He is - all at the same time - an expressive cartoon character, a human billboard of multiple advertisements and a real, live, walking, talking country-music song. John...

WANTED: TOP TRAINER WHO'S GREAT WITH CHILDREN

MIKE TYSON spent a good part of last weekend in a Phoenix strip club. Now, he is on the island paradise of Maui. He is supposed to be preparing for...

DEVILS HAVE TO BEAT THE FLYERS, SOONER OR LATER

Since they haven't done so this season, the Devils had better beat the Flyers now - or they'll likely have to beat them four times, starting next week. The Devils...

JESPER'S DATING SERVICE HAS ONE HAPPY CUSTOMER

MASTERS NOTES AUGUSTA - Tiger Woods allowed himself to have a few laughs with reporters about his current girlfriend, Elin Nordegren. Nordegren, a 22-year-old Swedish model who's the sister of...

ROOKIES SUPPLYING A SPARK

NET NOTES All those who honestly expected this type of contribution from the Nets' bench this season, raise your hand. Liars. Rookies Richard Jefferson and Jason Collins both insist they...

MCCARTHY: LATE WINS STILL A GOOD THING

With a high payroll and high profile players, the only thing the Rangers had hoped to be fighting for at this point in the season was a spot at the...

REY REPORTS MYSTERY WRIST WOE

MET NOTES CHICAGO - Rey Ordonez made an unscheduled trip to the doctor's office yesterday morning, but he was cleared for action. Ordonez felt pain and weakness in his right...

GIVING EWING START WHAT DOC ORDERED

"It's the right thing to do," Doc Rivers said. That's why the Orlando coach decided to start Patrick Ewing last night so the 'The Big Fella' - in town with...

VAUGHN CAN FEAST ON WRIGLEY

CHICAGO - Mo Vaughn's trip to the disabled list coincides with the Mets' only trip to Wrigley Field this season - and for the Met slugger, that really hurts. "I...

E-E-E-MPTY FEELING : GLOVES, BATS FAIL METS IN DREARY WRIGLEY LOSS

Cubs 2Mets 0 CHICAGO - Combine poor fielding with zero hitting and you have a funk. If the Mets thought they turned a corner in Atlanta, they ran into a...

KWAN CAPTURES SULLIVAN

When Michelle Kwan came up short in her quest for a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics, she said there was no question she'd compete again in 2002. But...

NETS GET CLINCHER OVER WIZ

Nets 101Wizards 88 Consider it a reward for all the agony and injury. Think of it as payback for the years of suffering watching Yinka and Benoit and Dennis Hopson...

KIDD ADDS EXHIBIT TO MVP PORTFOLIO

All Jason Kidd did last night was to electrify the crowd every time he zipped up court, seizing a division title along the way and inspiring two coaches to laud...

JASON: WE HAVE POINT TO PROVE

NET NOTES Hey, Nets. You've got the Atlantic and 50 wins. Now what? "The sky's the limit," Jason Kidd said. "We feel we're the best in the East and we'll...

PAT CAME BACK JUST WHEN GARDEN NEEDED HIM MOST

How appropriate that the Knicks, closing out a dismal season, needed Patrick Ewing to bail them out, just like old times. It wasn't a finger-roll that the home team required...

NO SPRING IN BERNIE'S BIG SWING

YANKEE NOTES TORONTO - While Jason Giambi is showing signs of crawling out of a slow start; Joe Torre believes Bernie Williams is still searching for it despite a pair...

BERNIE MAY BE OVER HIS SLOW START

YANKEE NOTES TORONTO - A first-inning single to right-center, a fourth-inning single to right and an RBI single to right on an 0-2 pitch last night provided an indication that...

JOE'S LINEUP IS MONEY: TORRE'S MURDERERS' ROW DOESN'T COME CHEAP

TORONTO - You know the guy with a closet full of Canali suits. His Ferragamo shoes are housed in cloth sacks inside boxes. Ties? Only Giorgio Armani. No wonder the...

YANKS KEEP ON ROLLING: RONDELL, MUSSINA UP STREAK TO SEVEN

Yankees 5 Blue Jays 2 TORONTO - As the ball climbed toward the windows that overlook SkyDome's center field, a hush washed over the small crowd in the big ballpark....

AS USUAL, PAT'S PRESENCE NEEDED AT THE GARDEN

HOW appropriate that the Knicks, closing out a dismal season, need Patrick Ewing to bail them out, just like old times. It wasn't a finger-roll or one of those soft...

VAN KEEPING EVEN KEEL DESPITE RECENT UPSWING

Richard Jefferson understands how things work in New York. Especially when it comes to weighing performance against expectations. "You can't really get too high or low with everything, especially in...

JUST LIKE OLD TIMES AT GOODBYE FOR EW : KNICKS FALL AS GARDEN BIDS ADIEU TO PATRICK

Magic 108 Knicks 97 With five seconds left, and Orlando in front comfortably, the entire Garden began shouting for Patrick Ewing to get the ball. Tracy McGrady obliged by dumping...

NETS EYE BIGGER GOALS

Another night, another game, another chance to clinch something meaningful for the Nets. Ho hum. "We're right back to where we started," said Jason Kidd before the Nets - again...