July 3, 2003

HOTEL GOES TO DOGGIE DOCS

The Animal Medical Center is buying a former extended-stay hotel at 320 E. 53rd St. to create housing for its interns. The 80-unit Lyden House is being sold by the...

VIVENDI AUCTION: BIDS CONTAINING STOCK AND CASH ARE OK

VIVENDI may be trying hard to sell its entertainment businesses, but the French company is also listening carefully to offers that include keeping a bit of those units. One insider...

CAPEK GOES KAPUT - UBS DUMPS ANALYST FOR HEALTHSOUTH COMMENTS

Howard Capek, the UBS analyst who bullishly covered scandal-plagued HealthSouth, is out of a job. The analyst resigned yesterday for violating company policies that restrict analysts from talking to investors...

GUCCI GONER: EARNINGS OFF 97% IN QTR.

The Gucci Group was momentarily out of fashion yesterday on Wall Street when it reported a 97 percent drop in first-quarter earnings. The results fell well below analysts' expectations and...

JOBLESS RISE SEEN - FIFTH MONTH OF LOSSES EXPECTED TO DAMPEN MARKETS

Wall Street isn't sticking its neck out for the long holiday weekend - or for the dismal jobs report expected today. Although investors went on a stock-buying spree yesterday on...

MESSIER: SHOW ME LE MONEY, NOW!

An enraged Jean-Marie Messier is rushing to court to collect his $23.6 million severance from Vivendi. Just a day after the ousted head of Vivendi won his windfall arbitration award...

STARR REPORT

Court TV puts the full Nelson on Loews Court TV is partnering with Loews for a series of "Clean Getaway" trailers airing in 154 Loews theaters across the country -...

COMMUNING WITH TV NEWS

LA COMMUNE (PARIS, 1871) [] Running time: 345 minutes. Not rated (political violence). At Anthology Film Archives, Second Avenue and Second Street. Through July 9. ---- EVER wonder how television...

FORGET THE $1 MILLION. THESE TWO FINALISTS ON 'LOVE OR MONEY' BETTER LISTEN UP AND . . . TAKE THE GUY!

NO one on NBC's reality-dating series "For Love or Money" will ever become an instant millionaire from appearing on the show - even if the winner opts for the $1...

BEYONCÉ BOUNCE

AMERICA is "Crazy in Love" with Beyoncé Knowles. "Dangerously in Love," the debut album from the Destiny's Child singer, was boosted by her hot summer single "Crazy in Love" to...

HALF OFF YOUR SOAP - WILL 'LIGHT' OR 'ONE LIFE' GET SHORTER?

ABC's cancellation of "Port Charles" last week isn't exactly the death knell for soaps - but it may mean some longtime serials may be shrunk to 30 minutes. "My guess...

CHROME DOME'S TONE POEM

BRUCE WILLIS ---- JUST like in his movies, actor Bruce Willis suspended reality for a couple of hours, creating a world where nymphets in skimpy summer dresses pressed the stage...

NAKED AMBITION - STRIP CLUBS VIE IN VAIN FOR WOMEN CUSTOMERS

The worst part is the ladies room, which the strippers use as a dressing room. It's filled with smoke, garbage - and the old man who applies their makeup. ---...

JACK HOOKED ON OXYCONTIN

JACK Osbourne has revealed that his addiction to OxyContin forced him into drug rehab last April. "I want to be in control of my life," Osbourne tells MTV in an...

NEXT TV MAKEOVER: 'TRADING SPOUSES'

THE producers of "Trading Spaces" are going from redecorating to romance. The company, Banyan Productions, is developing a new series for TLC in which prospective fiances will propose to their...

ARTS & CRAFTY - TRY YOUR LUCK AT THE MET

WONDERING where to take that special someone - or looking for potential candidates? Here's a tip: Chaotic beer gardens and loud rock shows don't exactly scream "romance." If you're searching...

SUDS HEAVEN ON AMSTERDAM

CO-EDS, cheap beer and pool - that's what Amsterdam Avenue is all about. This far from unwelcome state of affairs is traditionally attributed to the proximity of 20,000 Columbia University...

CHARIOT OF HEROES - STORIED B-17 BOMBER COMES TO TOWN

THE nation this week end celebrates the 227th anniversary of its founding, and once again young Americans are in harm's way in foreign lands. Therein lies a tale - and...

BMW NUT IN SPIT & RUN: COPS

An Upper East Side mortgage broker in his BMW cut off a woman driving on Long Island, chased her into a parking lot, spat at her and threatened her with...

THIS IS HELL FOR OUR KIDS - ANDY BREAKS SILENCE TO BARE HIS TORMENT

Andrew Cuomo spoke out for the first time yesterday about his shocking split from wife Kerry Kennedy, saying he was worried sick about the impact on their three young daughters....

JOY IN BETHLEHEM - ISRAEL HANDS TOWN OFF TO PALESTINIANS

JERUSALEM - Sirens blared and church bells pealed in Bethlehem yesterday as Israel handed over the West Bank city to Palestinian police in the latest move toward a U.S.-backed peace...

HE SHOWS ALL THE 'SIGNS' OF A CARING PERSON

TONY SACCENTE - Nominated for Educator Medal --- Tony Saccente doesn't have to say a word for you to realize how dedicated he is to his job - it's there...

AMERICAN LOVE AFFAIR

HAVE you ever noticed that whenever you hear liberals talk about what's great about America, they often end the sentence by noting that America's greatness lies in the right of...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Two Montana hikers were saved from becoming a grizzly bear's dinner - when the animal snatched their bag of Doritos instead. "He just left this little sawdust pile of broken...

ANTI-STALKING LAW UPHELD

ALBANY - The state's top court yesterday upheld New York's 4-year-old anti-stalking law. Paul Stuart, who was convicted of stalking a 22-year-old student in New York City, had appealed, claiming...

MIKE SHRUGS AS HE GROWS POLLS APART FROM VOTERS

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday defiantly shrugged off another punishing poll in which 76 percent of New Yorkers said he just doesn't connect to the people of the city. Despite dismal popularity...

ROWMAN SETS OUT TO CONQUER ATLANTIC

THE appreciable muscles of Theodore Rezvoy popped as he hauled on the oars of his 28-foot rowboat and said, "I'll see you in France or I'll see you in heaven."...

ARTFUL DODGERS' GALLERY PAYS PRICE

A Manhattan judge slapped a $400,000 fine on a prominent Upper East Side art gallery yesterday, after prosecutors caught the gallery helping customers evade the state sales tax on millions...

BUSH: WE WON'T BE RUN OUT OF IRAQ

WASHINGTON - A tough-talking President Bush yesterday said ambushes and attacks on U.S. troops won't scare America out of Iraq and defiantly challenged foes: "Bring 'em on!" Bush said the...

MIKE ADDS 10G TO SLAY REWARD

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday added $10,000 to the reward money to help nab a Bronx man wanted in the murder of a livery cabdriver. It's the first time since taking office...

PROBERS EYE STEALTH CLUBS

A city legislator is looking to muscle in on health clubs that aren't giving potential gym rats the real deal on membership policies. More than 80 percent of the city's...

HOW MONSTER'S MISSUS PINED FOR EVIL SPOUSE

The cruel behavior of Saddam Hussein's oldest son toward the women in his life has been bared in a newly discovered love letter written by his first wife. In the...

POSTAL DISSERVICE - $2,500 IN DEPRESSION BONDS NOW WORTHLESS

The check is not in the mail. The Postal Service will not deliver on a 69-year-old promise to cash in $2,500 worth of savings certificates it issued during the Depression....

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * The Brownsville cop who suffered a graze wound trying to help two officers arresting a gunman was released from the hospital yesterday. Eight-year veteran Donald Macewen, 32, walked...

CITY GAME FOR GAMES DESPITE VANCOUVER PICK

New York City officials moved immediately yesterday to quash speculation that the city's bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics could be hurt by the awarding of the 2010 Winter Olympics...

DEFIANT RAP BIG: FINE THIS

MUST be some fine jewelry. Millionaire hip-hop honcho Russell Simmons scoffed at the criminal probe into his fledgling career as a drug-law "lobbyist" - telling me that any fine he...

RIKERS INSIDERS BUSTED IN DRUG STING

Seven city employees - including a drug counselor and a teacher's aide - have been arrested for smuggling drugs onto Rikers Island, authorities announced yesterday. The charges against the six...

NO FREE RIDE FOR CYCLONES

The Brooklyn Cyclones have struck out on a recent city audit, which found the team keeps sloppy attendance records and failed to pay more than $87,000 it owed the Parks...

DEMS DO A TIPTOE AROUND GAY MARRIAGE

SUDDENLY a lot of Democrats, starting with Sen. Hillary Clinton and her ex-president husband Bill, are desperately seeking a "don't ask, don't tell" policy on the subject of gay marriage....

APPLE $TUMBLES AS U.S. BOUNCES BACK

The news on the city's economy was as gloomy as ever yesterday - even as the national economy continued to grow. Comptroller William Thompson reported that the economy here tanked...

'TERROR' CHAOS HITS DOWNTOWN - SUBWAYS AND B'KLYN BRIDGE CLOSED DOWN

Lower Manhattan was thrown into chaos by a terror scare yesterday after a man said he had been offered $1,500 to drive a car parked outside City Hall across the...

KLEIN STATES HIS CASE FOR MORE SCHOOL $$

Albany, show city schoolkids the money! That's the financial lesson city schools boss Joel Klein delivered to state lawmakers yesterday, insisting they are the ones responsible to provide potentially billions...

'BLACKFACE' JUDGE WARNS CITY: $ETTLE

The federal judge who ruled Rudy Giuliani wrongly fired an NYPD cop and two firefighters for wearing blackface on a racist parade float said yesterday he would be required to...

COURTING REFORM - B'KLYN DEM LEADERS OK PLAN TO FIX JUDGE PICKS

Under pressure to reform the way judges are nominated in Brooklyn, Democratic district leaders approved a proposal that would create an independent panel to screen candidates for the party's state...

JUDGE SINGES CITY FOR FIREHOUSE CLOSING

A Brooklyn judge ruled yesterday the city broke the law when it shuttered a Queens firehouse after failing to give notice to a local community board, but he backed five...

HAMPTONS DIARY

GEORGICA BEACH in East Hampton, near some of the most expensive homes in the Hamptons, was closed to the public yesterday after it was declared a crime scene. It seems...

SUN, FUN AND FIREWORKS - FEEL-GOOD FORECAST FOR FOURTH OF JULY

The only umbrellas most of us will be seeing this holiday weekend will be on beaches, patios and hot-dog stands. That's the word from the National Weather Service, which expects...

WORK-FARCE PROBERS NAB REPAIR LOAF

Authorities busted a Department of Education furniture repairman yesterday for allegedly clocking in but not doing any work. School investigators found the alleged no-show employee, Michael Ewald, 34, of Bethpage,...

MARIO & RFK JR. PLAY PEACEMAKERS

ALBANY - Call them the supercharged family peacemakers. Former Gov. Mario Cuomo, widely viewed as one of the most skillful negotiators in the nation, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the...

NEW BOOK PILL-ORIES JFK JR.

John F. Kennedy Jr. had plenty of experience with powerful drugs when he convinced his wife, Carolyn Bessette, to take anti-depressants - the hunky son of JFK was regularly popping...

'MISMANAGING' J.LO - STAR CLAIMS AIDE TOOK 100G BEHIND HER BACK

J.Lo and behold, Jennifer Lopez yesterday fired a new salvo in her bitter battle with former manager Benny Medina. The 32-year-old superstar singer and screen siren filed a petition against...

TAILS OF WOE END HAPPILY

More than 50 wire-haired fox terriers - including five puppies - found living in terrible conditions in a Bronx house are barking for joy today after getting a new foster...

PRINCIPAL NABBED IN RAPE OF YOUNG GIRL

A Brooklyn elementary school principal was busted yesterday on charges of sexually abusing a young girl for the last two years, beginning when she was 12, cops said. Leroy Johnson,...

SCHOOLS CHIEF NAMES 32 WHO ARE JUST 'SUPER'

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein yesterday selected 32 community school district superintendents - as required by a legal settlement. The chancellor had sought to eliminate district superintendents as part of his...

BIZARRE B'KLYN BURN DEATH

A 39-year-old Brooklyn man was found burned to death on his kitchen floor last night, police said. Andrew Puccini of East 73rd Street in Bergen Beach was found dead by...

METROSTARS LET WIN SLIP AWAY

2 OVERTIMES: M'Stars 4 - E'quakes 4 In the waning seconds of regulation last night, the MetroStars let Landon Donovan slip through their defense - and a much-needed win slipped...

NO DEFENSE FOR THIS - ERROR MADE WHEN FIELDING WAS IGNORED

IT might all be part of the same plot that puts Robbie Alomar in Chicago after his flawlessly executed scheme to get out of New York by defiantly, purposely, tapping...

M'STARS GET GOOD NEWS ON STADIUM & KEEPER

The MetroStars' on-field news had been fairly bleak coming into last night's game against San Jose, but off the field they learned they may be keeping their star goalie for...

BENITEZ TAKES BLAME - SIX BLOWN SAVES TIES CAREER HIGH

Last night was Fireworks Night at Shea Stadium. Therefore, it might have been wise to fit Armando Benitez with a flame-retardant uniform, or perhaps to wrap him in a fireproof...

COULD BE LEIT'S OUT - INJURED LEFTY LIKELY TO MISS NEXT START

This hurts. That hurts. Al Leiter was running through the list of ailments. His left knee, which underwent arthroscopic surgery four years ago, bothers him at times. He's recently felt...

LEG HURTING, REYES GETS SOME REST

MET NOTES Ever since Jose Reyes was called up from Triple-A Norfolk on June 10, he has been a fixture in the Mets lineup, playing in all 21 games. The...

CLAUSSEN'S START GOES DOWN THE DRAIN

YANKEE NOTES BALTIMORE - Easy come, easy go. One day after Brandon Claussen was awarded a Saturday start against the Red Sox at the Stadium, yesterday's rainout took away the...

JASON'S HOT STUFF - YANKEE SLUGGER PLAYER OF MONTH

BALTIMORE - After getting no-hit on June 11, the Yankees finished up the month by going 16-2. One theory surrounding that stretch was that Joe Torre's postgame meeting spurred a...

KNICK PG OF FUTURE ISN'T IN ANY HURRY

Goran Ristanovic, the agent for Yugoslavian point guard Milos Vujanic, has become the Knicks' grim reaper. In a telephone interview from Serbia yesterday, Ristanovic made his strongest statement that the...

NOTHING LEFT FOR METS - AGING GLAVINE, LEITER FAIL TO PITCH IN

WITH Robbie Alomar gone to Chicago after a flawlessly executed nine-month scheme to get out of New York by purposely tapping out weakly on every single right-handed at-bat, the Mets...

OTHER PIAZZA HOPES TO BE JUST LIKE MIKE

Imagine that the Mets drafted a guy named Piazza, this one named Tony, in the 12th round of last month's draft. This one's a catcher, just like the major-league version....

THIS GENTLE GIANT'S ALREADY A FAN FAVE

Slavko Vranes attended the Knicks' kids summer basketball camp yesterday at West Hempstead's Island Garden to sign autographs and answer questions about his 7-6 height and 20 shoe size. Whether...

JAE'S NOT SEO GOOD - ROOKIE RIGHT-HANDER ROUGHED UP AGAIN

Some pitchers don't speak to anyone the day before they pitch, forget about in the hours leading up to a scheduled start. Sign an autograph? Fat chance, kid. Got a...

KIDD WILL PAY MAVS A VISIT

There's no sense going to Texas to visit San Antonio and ignoring Dallas. So Jason Kidd, who'll visit the Spurs Sunday and Monday during his free-agent tour, will accommodate Mavs...

NAGGING INJURY PUTS LEITER OUT

MET NOTES Al Leiter said he sounded as if he was describing "a broken-down horse" when talking about his various leg ailments, and it appeared he won't be getting to...

METS GET EXPOS-ED - SEO MELTS, 'D' DISAPPEARS IN SHEA SHELLACKING

Expos 11 - Mets 4 A nice mid-week crowd of 35,547 at Shea Stadium last night began a chant in the top of the sixth inning, the fans making their...

CYCLONE HITTERS PICK UP THE PACE

Cyclones 4 - S.I. Yanks 3 Finally, the story of the game wasn't the blasted Brooklyn Cyclone arms. At least that's what the Cyclones' overshadowed offense had to think. Last...

KIDD SLATES DALLAS VISIT

There's no sense going to Texas to visit San Antonio and ignoring Dallas. So Jason Kidd, who'll visit the Spurs Sunday and Monday during his free-agent tour, will accommodate Mavs...

PHENOM WIE OPEN TO CHALLENGES

She can't win any money, so 13-yard-old Michelle Wie might as well learn how pros collect paychecks in her first U.S. Women's Open. She won't be blazing any trails as...