June 19, 2002

SEC. O'NEILL: NO NEED TO REFORM STREET

If individual investors are looking to the Bush administration to restore confidence after all the scandals that hit Wall Street in recent months, they'd better start looking elsewhere. Treasury Secretary...

SHORENSTEIN DEAL FOR 450 LEX

SHORENSTEIN is back. The former leasing and management agent of the Met Life building - Shorenstein Co. - has returned to New York and just signed a contract to purchase...

MUSE HOTEL WILL HOLD 'SEX' PARTIES

A Midtown hotel is looking to generate some business with "Sex and the City" slumber parties. The Muse hotel is offering a "Pajama Party Package," that includes "sinfully spacious accommodations,...

SHAREHOLDERS STAY AWAY; MSO HITS NEW LOW

Shares of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia reached a new low for the 2002 calendar year, closing at $14.40, down 63 cents, yesterday. Stewart's personal worth is down more than $141...

MORE MERRILL CUTS - BANKERS FACE YET ANOTHER ROUND OF LAYOFFS

Merrill Lynch & Co. is quietly preparing to hand out more pink slips, in the latest sign that the slowdown on Wall Street isn't reversing anytime soon. Over the next...

NEW TAB TRIES TO DO JUSTICE

A wave of independent publishers is streaming into the magazine start-up arena - where major publishers fear to go in the current brutal market. The latest indie entry teams circulation...

OH, TO BE MARTHA - DOMESTIC DIVA HAS NO LACK OF SUCCESSORS

Martha Stewart hasn't fallen from her perch just yet - but already there is a scramble of up-and-coming stars looking to take her place if she should. Her top home-decorating...

ICAHN MOVES TO BREAK UP MORTON'S DEAL

Carl Icahn is coming back for Morton's Restaurants again - this time trying to break up a merger deal between the steakhouse and buyout shop Castle Harlan. Icahn raised his...

2ND ACT FOR PETS.COM SOCK PUPPET

The most famous dog from the Web - the celebrated sock puppet from Pets.com - is going back to work pitching car loans to bad credit customers. The black-and-white sock...

GOOD VIBE FROM BAD COMPANY

BAD COMPANY ------- AFTER the final note had been played and the fans were slowly filing out of the Beacon Theatre, there was little question what a good performance the...

TALKING PICTURES

WARPHOTOGRAPHER The real "year of living dangerously."Running time: 96 minutes. Not rated (graphic violence). At Film Forum, Houston Street, west of Sixth Avenue. 'WAR Photographer" is a misleadingly bland title...

THESE 'TODAY' 'DOS DON'T

MEMO to Matt and Katie: Fire your stylists. That's the consensus among "Today" loyalists, who this week have witnessed the morning show co-hosts' transformation from super to strange. Monday morning,...

LESS MEANS MORE FOR SCALED-BACK DUCASSE

IT'S been two years this month since Alain Ducasse opened his eponymous restaurant at the Essex House hotel to less-than-flattering reviews. France's eight-Michelin-star chef immediately found himself against the ropes,...

'NUDE' DOC NOT REVEALING ENOUGH

NOT NUDE THOUGH RUDY Burckhardt, the noted avant-garde photographer/painter/filmmaker/actor, is spotlighted in this documentary by his friend Doris Kornish. It consists of interviews with the eightysomething Burckhardt, as well as...

DOMINICK DUNNE'S COURT TV GIG DIGS... RICH PICKIN'S

"Dominick Dunne'sPower,Privilege and Justice" Tonight at 10 on Court TV OK, Your Honor, it's true. I admit I'm a prejudiced witness with preconceived notions, and a prior knowledge of the...

WRAP AND ROLL WITH KATI

THE KATI ROLL COMPANY [] 99 MACDOUGAL ST. (BETWEEN BLEECKER STREET AND MINETTA LANE) (212) 420-6517 ------------- THINK you've seen enough wraps in this lifetime? The Kati Roll Company could...

WHERE'S THE FIRE?

JIMMY'S DOWNTOWN [ 1/2] 400 E. 57TH ST. (212) 488-6400 ------- SUAVE Jimmy Rodriguez, the irresistible force behind the fabled Jimmy's Bronx Cafe and a newer one in Harlem, has...

'HAIRSPRAY' WILL BE STIFF COMPETITION

AND they're off! The gate is up on the new theater season and "Hairspray" has sprinted right to the lead. The stage adaptation of John Waters' campy 1988 cult movie...

FERGIE GETS A TOE IN

SARAH Ferguson taped the first elements for her syndicated talk show, "Fergie," at a Times Square studio over the past weekend. The taping was for a pilot episode of the...

GEORGE GETS THE SUNDAY HOTSEAT

FORMER Clinton White House aide George Stephanopoulos is taking over "This Week" - ABC's Sunday-morning interview show. So how long will it be before he must interview either his former...

STARR REPORT

Chemistry, class: New ads for 'The View' With Meredith Vieira safely secured for the forseeable future, "The View" will be the focus of a new ad campaign being unveiled tomorrow...

WORLD CUP IN CONNECTICUT

THE world is passionately watching the World Cup soccer tournament in Asia as it unfolds on TV - and so are some the ESPN analysts who call the games. But...

ISRAEL STORMS INTO WEST BANK - VOWS TO STAY UNTIL THE END OF TERROR

JERUSALEM - Israeli troops, tanks and helicopters moved into Palestinian areas of the West Bank overnight - as Israel vowed to retake and hold parts of the territory as long...

TEEN NABBED IN REVENGE SLAY: COPS

Last summer, Robert Lopez shot Jacques Fuentes in the leg during a fight over a woman. Last night, the two Brooklyn men met again. Only this time, it was Lopez...

HORROR'S RETURN - SPATE OF BRUTAL CRIMES TESTS OUR NEW INNOCENCE

THE brutality of last year's robbery-murder spree above the Carnegie Deli horrified this city - so much so, in fact, that it demonstrated just how profoundly New York had changed...

TALES OF SURVIVAL AND HORROR FROM DOOMED BUS

JERUSALEM - It was a scene of gruesome carnage out of a horror movie: A long row of black nylon body bags, near the gutted insides of a commuter bus...

CITY BIGS GET PERMIT TO HOG PARKING

It's the block from downtown parking hell - clogged by vehicles bearing special city-issued permits. Merchants on Reade Street, between Broadway and Church Street, struggling to regain their financial footing...

THE TURNER DIATRIBES

TED Turner sure picked an interesting day to accuse Israel of practicing terrorism against Palestinians. Even as the CNN founder's bizarre take on Mideast affairs appeared in the pages of...

ENTER'PRIZE' - 'STAR TREK' CHAIR UP FOR BID

For the price of an exotic sports car or a small yacht, every geeked-up Trekkie's fantasy can come true - Capt. Kirk's chair from the original "Star Trek" series is...

COP LANDS FED SECURITY POST

A former NYPD chief and Manhattan South commanding officer was tapped yesterday to head federal security operations at La Guardia Airport. Allan Hoehl will fill the post created in November...

EX-TOP COP NEW SCHOOL PROBER

Mayor Bloomberg named a well-regarded former police commissioner as the new schools investigator yesterday, replacing the late Ed Stancik, whose outspoken, aggressive style defined the job for 12 years. Former...

MAYOR BLOOMBERG PLEDGED YESTERDAY TO SLASH THE SKY-HIGH COST OF SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION

Mayor Bloomberg pledged yesterday to slash the sky-high cost of school construction in half - by building cookie-cutter-type schools that look the same in Bay Ridge as they do in...

GOV. HOPEFULS NUKE IT OUT

The race for governor hit Westchester yesterday - with Gov. Pataki getting the backing of a union there, while Carl McCall called on him to revamp the evacuation plan for...

'DEEP' REVELATION A SHALLOW PRANK

TO THE liberals, he was hailed as the world-famous Watergate whistleblower. To others, he was a wanton White House weasel. His name is John Dean, and yesterday at Michael Jordan's...

NO BAIL FOR E. VILLAGE RACE-ATTACK 'GUNMAN'

The Brooklyn barber charged with shooting three people and dousing partygoers with kerosene during a terrifying racially motivated rampage in an East Village wine bar early Sunday was ordered held...

UPSTATE SEX CLUB STRIPS TASTELESS BILLBOARD AD

An upstate strip club owner yesterday bowed to public pressure and removed an ad for his pleasure palace from a billboard featuring famous flag-raising pictures from Sept. 11 and World...

JUDGE LOWERS BAIL SO HIGH-SCHOOLER WON'T FAIL

A high-school senior, jailed more than a week on a robbery charge, was freed yesterday so he could take a Regents exam and graduate from high school. Kimar Henry, 18,...

OH, SHOOT! STUDENT NAILS NYPD FIREARMS TRAINER

An NYPD firearms instructor training another cop how to clean his weapon was shot in the hand when the student's gun went off accidentally at the department's range in The...

PHONY COP IN B'KLYN RIPOFF

A bike-riding, badge-carrying bandit - passing himself off as a police officer - was on the prowl in Brooklyn early yesterday, robbing one pedestrian and attempting to rob a woman...

DWI OFFICER HITS POLICE CAR: COPS

An off-duty NYPD officer was charged with drunken driving after she sideswiped a police car at the Verrazano Bridge, authorities said yesterday. Police Officer Silvia Montello, 39, was approaching the...

CITY OKS $6.5M TO MAKE TWEED SUIT BOARD

The city allocated up to $6.5 million yesterday to convert the just-refurbished Tweed Courthouse into the new Board of Education headquarters. Just a day earlier, Mayor Bloomberg had said the...

POLS TEAR INTO 'IDIOTIC' TURNER

WASHINGTON - Ted Turner's remark accusing Israel of terrorism drew a strong rebuke from members of Congress yesterday, with lawmakers ripping the outspoken CNN founder. "Ted Turner has done more...

GOTTIS WARN: WE'LL SEE YOU IN COURT

The Gottis have ushered in a new era in which people who cross them will get whacked - with a judge's gavel. John A. "Junior" Gotti yesterday lifted his late...

CITY CLAIMS VICTORY IN RAT RACE

City health officials insisted yesterday that rats aren't running amok around Ground Zero, despite repeated complaints from residents that rodents are having a field day. "There are isolated cases and...

COURT FLUSHES TOILET-SEX POLICEMAN

The NYPD career of a cop who was once canned for having sex with a hooker inside the ladies room in the Manhattan district attorney's office is once again in...

HOPE FADES IN SEARCH FOR L.I. SHARK FISHERMEN

A 'round-the-clock air and sea search continued yesterday for four shark-hunting fishermen whose boat vanished Saturday off the coast of Long Island. A Coast Guard cutter yesterday checked out floating...

MIKE TO KIN: BACK OFF - DEFENDS WTC LIAISON AMID HAIL OF CRITICISM[[

Mayor Bloomberg strongly defended his liaison to the Sept. 11 victims' family members yesterday, amid criticism from a string of relatives of those killed. Bloomberg spoke as some family-advocacy groups...

TRANSSEXUAL TEARS IN HARASS TRIAL

A busty blond transsexual fled a Brooklyn courtroom in tears yesterday after describing on the witness stand how bat-wielding Toys "R" Us workers threatened her friends while they were shopping...

KIN'S ANGUISH AT GRUESOME DETAILS IN RACE-CAR SLAY

The mother and sister of a man killed by a speeding Ferrari in Brooklyn earlier this year broke down in court when they heard how the impact tore off their...

BLOODSHED MAY FORCE BUSH'S HAND

The latest homicide attack in Israel could make it easier for President Bush to make tough demands on the Palestinians, analysts said last night. Team Bush was scrambling to take...

A CASE FOR THE DEATH PENALTY

MAYBE it's because this city has suffered so much death. But last year's senseless and highly personal massacre above the Carnegie Deli is severely testing some people's feverish opposition to...

9/11 PLOT BEGAN IN '98: INTELLIGENCE BOSSES

WASHINGTON - Top U.S. intelligence officials gave detailed, closed-door testimony yesterday about the Sept. 11 plot, and a senior lawmaker who attended said it was probably hatched after the 1998...

PLEA MAY PUT LIZZIE IN JAIL FOR A MONTH

Lizzie Grubman's prosecutors are considering a plea deal that would put the p.r. princess behind bars for 30 days for mowing down 16 people with her Mercedes SUV outside a...

CARNEGIE PAIR GUILTY - 2 JURIES CONVICT IN INFAMOUS MASSACRE

Both gunmen were convicted of triple-murder in the Carnegie Deli massacre case last night, in dramatic back-to-back verdicts that left family members and jurors in tears. The convictions will likely...

TWO DEAD IN BX. SLAY & SUICIDE

A man shot his girlfriend to death in a van parked on a busy Bronx street last night - then ended a bloody argument by turning the gun on himself,...

CITY POLS STRIKE BUDGET DEAL TO SPARE SCHOOLS

Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Gifford Miller agreed on a new $41.9 billion budget that restores cuts to education and keeps "some form" of recycling, sources said last night....

SEPT. 11 TRAUMA COUNSELING PLANNED

The Bloomberg administration announced yesterday that it is releasing $1.25 million to counsel 1,500 students in downtown schools who may still be traumatized by the Sept. 11 attacks. "Studies have...

SPY BOSSES: AL QAEDA STILL INSIDE U.S.

WASHINGTON - Al Qaeda terrorists, including possible members of the Sept. 11 hijacking teams, are still inside the United States, the nation's intelligence chiefs told lawmakers yesterday. "There are operatives...

POLS TAKE A SWING AT BALLPLAYER STEROID USE

Sen. John McCain yesterday blasted baseball players who use steroids, saying it affects the "credibility of their performance" and serves as a bad influence on kids. "Like it or not,...

JURY GETS ST. JOHN'S SHOOTING CASE

A jury began deliberating last night on the fate of a man accused of the shooting rampage that paralyzed a St. John's University football player. Christopher Prince is charged with...

CARNEGIE PAIR GUILTY: 2 JURIES CONVICT IN INFAMOUS MASSACRE

Both gunmen were convicted of triple-murder in the Carnegie Deli massacre last night, in dramatic back-to-back verdicts that left family members and jurors in tears. The convictions will likely send...

'JUROR' DIDDY DOES HIS DUTY

Sean "P. Diddy" Combs was in court yesterday - but not as a defendant. The legally challenged music mogul hip-hopped in and out of Manhattan Supreme Court for jury duty,...

ISRAELI TANKS WALLOP JENIN: SHARON REJECTS PLEAS FOR RESTRAINT

JERUSALEM - Several Israeli tanks stormed into the West Bank "capital" of homicide bombers last night in what was expected to be the first of several military strikes in retaliation...

BLOODSHED MAY FORCE BUSH'S HAND ON ARAFAT

ANALYSIS The latest homicide attack in Israel could make it easier for President Bush to make tough demands on the Palestinians, analysts said last night. Team Bush was scrambling to...

BOMB MAKING VIDEO CONFISCATED

Israeli military officials say they've confiscated a chilling videotape - which they described as "Bomb-making 101" - teaching Palestinian militants how to blow up Israeli bus stations, markets and other...

CONGRESS TEARS INTO 'IDIOTIC' TED

WASHINGTON -Ted Turner's remark accusing Israel of terrorism drew a strong rebuke from members of Congress yesterday, with lawmakers ripping the outspoken CNN founder. "Ted Turner has done more today...

CLASSROOM EXTRA: GOING FOR THE GOAL

ABSTRACT: This week's Classroom Extra catches up with some outstanding students - in this case, the winners of the New York Post's Jackie Robinson Essay Contest. Set to graduate this...

JOE GETS JOHNSON OFF PINE

DENVER - The thinking behind Joe Torre starting Nick Johnson in left field last night was to keep the rust from smothering the rookie's bat during interleague play. But there...

REED: METS BLEW SHOT AT CLEMENS

Rick Reed missed out on a chance to start at Shea for the first time since the Mets traded him to the Twins. He was scheduled to start tonight, but...

CLAUSSEN'S ARM MIGHT BECOME REAL SORE SPOT

YANKEE NOTES DENVER - The Yankees have their fingers firmly crossed that the problems in Brandon Claussen's left arm aren't serious. Claussen left Columbus (Triple-A) yesterday for Tampa, where the...

LOVE'S LABOR CAUGHT ... AND TAGGED

A SCIENCE project turned into a fishing trip for 49 students from Jersey City who spent a day last week aboard a party boat in Sheepshead Bay. To qualify for...

MO'S READY TO ROLL ; VAUGHN: I'VE FOUND CURE FOR BAT WOES

Before last night's game with Minnesota, Mo Vaughn claimed a weight has been lifted off his shoulders, those same shoulders that he said were flying too open and disrupting his...

NETS WILL BE ON GUARD AT DRAFT

The Nets still have that feeling that the world is turned upside down as they start working out players today, including Stanford's Casey Jacobsen. The Eastern Conference champions have a...

KNICKS PLAYING RUSSIAN ROULETTE

While Duke's Mike Dunleavy makes his decision today on whether he'll stay in the draft, the recent hype surrounding Italian League center Nikoloz Tskitshvili as a Top-6 pick could also...

RACING GETS INTERNATIONAL BOOST

Thoroughbred racing unveiled its own version of the Casablanca Conference yesterday as major industry organizations from the United States, England and France announced a new strategic alliance to promote the...

ROCKET MUM ON SLAP ON WRIST

DENVER - Roger Clemens has been a picture of consistency throughout a Hall of Fame career. And he stayed that way last night when asked about Mets lefty Shawn Estes...

RECOVERING EWING STILL COVETS TITLE

The Big Fella still craves The Ring, and he's still willing to pay the price for championship glory. Patrick Ewing, the former longtime Knicks center, who wasn't truly embraced until...

SENATE TAKES SWINGS AT STEROID USE BY BASEBALL PLAYERS

Sen. John McCain yesterday blasted baseball players who use steroids, saying it affects the "credibility of their performance" and serves as a bad influence on kids. "Like it or not,...

CAN AMAZIN' ARMS HOLD ON?

BEFORE the fifth inning began last night, highlights were shown of the big Met hits against the Yankees from Saturday and Sunday. There were homers by Shawn Estes and Mike...

STUNNED ESTES THINKS FINE IS WAY OFF MARK

He might have missed his spot, but Shawn Estes will still get hit in the wallet - and he's not pleased. "I'm definitely surprised," Estes said last night after the...

SO MUCH FOR MOMENTUM ; AFTER BIG SERIES, METS LAPSE INTO LISTLESSNESS

Twins 6Mets 1 The Mets had hoped Mo Vaughn's dramatic home run Sunday and their Subway Series victory over the rival Yankees would prove the turning point in their season...

JOHNSON LEAVES LIBERTY BOBBLING AND BROKEN

Miracle 71Liberty 62 On Teresa Weatherspoon Bobblehead Doll night in The Garden, Orlando Miracle guard Shannon Johnson played Spoon as if she were the toy. The 5-foot-7 Johnson is pound...

HOJO BAGS FIRST WIN AS CYCLONE SKIPPER

Cyclones 8S.I. Yanks 5 Might want to remember this name if you're a Cyclones fan - Alhaji Turay. Just trust us. Turay, the Brooklyn center fielder whom you're going to...

YANKS TAP THE ROCKIES: SEVENTEEN HITS BLAST COLORADO

Yankees 10 Rockies 5 DENVER - Obviously, the climate-controlled room the Rockies store baseballs in at Coors Field was on the fritz last night. When the Yankees were asked their...

TWINS LOOK TO FUTURE

There haven't been too many bad days for the Twins and their manager, Ron Gardenhire, this year. But whenever he is faced with one, the rookie skipper recalls an afternoon...

DEREK OK; YANKS BATS AILING

DENVER - When the Yankees emerged from the third-base dugout at 1:51 yesterday afternoon and entered a sweltering Coors Field for an early workout, Derek Jeter was among the first...

PHENOM'S ARM REAL SORE SPOT

YANKEE NOTES DENVER - The Yankees have their fingers firmly crossed that the problems in Brandon Claussen's left arm aren't serious. Claussen left Columbus (Triple-A) yesterday for Tampa, where the...

CYCLONES, YANKS RENEW THEIR RIVALRY

This past weekend, the Brooklyn Cyclones and Staten Island Yankees flew up from Florida and stepped down in New York. Last night they walked into the hottest rivalry in baseball....

LIBERTY GOING BIG-TIME WITH BOBBLEHEADS

Sometimes progress is measured in milestones, such as the formation of the WNBA six years ago. Finally, women had a professional basketball league in the United States. Other times, progress...