April 1, 2004

REFUND IS GOOD NEWS FOR NYC CO-OP SELLERS

The Dept. of Finance will refund a $50 filing fee paid by co-op sellers and illegally collected by the city since Jan. 1, 2003. But the department also will seek...

OOPS! LABOR DEPT. LOST 321,000 AMERICAN JOBS!

LET'S make some trouble. Tomorrow morning the Labor Department will announce the number of new jobs created in March as well as the monthly unemployment rate. The experts - you...

BACK IN THE SPIN - COHEN PICKS TOP EXECS TO RUN WARNER MUSIC

After cleaning house at Warner Music Group, new Warner chief Lyor Cohen has unveiled his dream-team quartet of top honchos to reinvent the music business. The four executives are behind...

2 EDITORS JUMP OFF MARTHA'S SINKING SHIP

Two key staffers have defected from Martha Stewart Living - and industry experts are expecting the exodus to accelerate in the months ahead. The latest raider is Susan Wyland, now...

ALL BUTTONED UP - MARTY STAFF IS TAPPED TO RUN JOSEPH ABBOUD

Marty Staff, the ebullient apparel executive who added sizzle to staid suitmaker Hugo Boss before resigning under peculiar circumstances, is staging a comeback as the president and chief executive of...

GROUP FORMED TO PROTEST NIELSEN TV RATINGS SYSTEM

Activists who believe that minority viewers will be undercounted by a new Nielsen television ratings system launched a group to protest the technology yesterday. Don't Count Us Out opposes the...

GET MILKED? - PARMALAT SALE MAY LIFT PRICES: SCHUMER

With milk prices set to rise by 30-cents a gallon today, Sen. Chuck Schumer is sounding alarms of further hikes if a new cartel rises here from the ashes of...

MARTHA MAG LOSES 2 TOP BOSSES TO LIFETIME

Two key staffers have defected from Martha Stewart Living - and industry experts are expecting the problem to accelerate in the months ahead. The latest raider is a one-time top...

'DREAM JOB' ON HOLD FOR SCHOOL

ESPN's "Dream Job" winner, Mike Hall, will graduate from college after all before starting his new gig as a "SportsCenter" anchor. Hall, a senior at the University of Missouri, had...

'GAME,' SET, MATCH

RIPLEY'S GAME (three stars) A hidden gem. Running time: 110 minutes. Rated R (violence, profanity). On New Line Home Video. --- 'RIPLEY'S Game," starring a perfectly cast John Malkovich as...

VAN TAKES THE CONCERT CROWD FOR A JOY RIDE

VAN MORRISON IT is truly amazing how Van Morrison, a man whose stage demeanor is that of a curmudgeonly misanthrope, can get so close to the heart of a song....

BRAINS WITH A BOUNCE - KNICK DANCERS' SMART MOVES

DON'T hate these Knicks City Dancers because they're beautiful. Hate them for their brains. Kimberlee Garris, Angela Rassas and Lauren Trusty all have day jobs that would challenge the sharpest...

NEW 'OFFICE' - GERVAIS READY FOR 'EXTRA' PAINFUL COMEDY

RICKY Gervais, the suddenly famous star of England's smash-hit comedy "The Office," has given us a sneak-peek at his newest TV project. "It's called 'Extras' and it's about those 'extra'...

STARR REPORT

The Abrams report As expected, Ch. 2 will announce today that it's hired Roz Abrams, formerly of Ch. 7, as its marquee anchor along with Ernie Anastos. Ch. 2 spokeswoman...

GHOST WHIRLED - 'PHANTOM' WON'T BOMB, SADLY

"Danny Phantom" [] (two stars) Saturday night at 9:30 on Nickelodeon ---- I don't get it. This ghost-kid named Danny Phantom engages in pitched battles with all sorts of poltergeists...

PINK-HAIRED AMY'S 'IDOL' SWAN SONG

AMY Adams last night became the third pop- star wannabe booted off "American Idol," leaving only nine more contestants vying for the brass ring. Adams, the 24-year-old from Bakersfield, Calif.,...

INVASION OF THE COMIC BOOKS - GET READY FOR THE NEXT WAVE OF BIG-SCREEN SUPERHEROES

AFTER the soaring success of recent comic-book adaptations like "X-Men" and "Spider-Man," movie studios have been frantically mining the shelves in search of the next big franchise. Over the next...

DOG DATE AFTERNOON - POP QUIZ: WHERE YOU CAN REALLY BRING A POOCH IN NEW YORK

MEET The Snack. The Snack is no ordinary poodle mix. For starters, there's his name. That definite article gives the little guy a rock star quality - like U2 guitarist...

BLOCK PARTY - ROARING TWENTY

E. 20th St. THIS groovy little Flatiron block has everything you need for a great night out - whatever your budget. Big spenders will no doubt be familiar with the...

MOB MISTRESS 'CHECKS OUT' - BODY FOUND IN L.I. MOTEL ROOM

The mistress of Gambino boss Peter Gotti was found dead yesterday less than a week after she vaulted to fame as the mobster's moll, police said. Marjorie Alexander was found...

'HOT' SEX TRIGGERS DISEASE

The risk of catching a sexually transmitted disease increases during summer - and not just because people get friskier when the weather's nice. Researchers found that the detection of the...

BLOOMY'S POLL VAULT 'POSITIVE'LY AMAZING

Mayor Bloomberg is climbing in the polls and - for the first time in a year - his approval ratings have crossed into positive terrain. A Quinnipiac University poll found...

JANITOR DEBATE GETS RACE-Y

The Bloomberg administration yesterday defended its plan to privatize custodial services in public schools, arguing that the move would increase the number of minorities and provide other advantages. "The fact...

HOOK KID'S KIN WANT PROBE

The family of a 5-year-old boy who was hung from a hook in a closet by his music teacher filed a $5 million notice of claim against the city yesterday...

PENN STA. DUCKS 'GOP' SHUTDOWN

Organizers of the city's Republican National Convention insisted Penn Station would remain open during this summer's four-day gala - even as their Democratic counterparts in Boston yesterday announced major transportation...

JAYSON REFUSES TO TELL HIS SIDE

SOMERVILLE, N.J. - The defense rested yesterday in the Jayson Williams manslaughter trial - with the NBA star declining to testify about how he fatally shot a limo driver. "I...

B'KLYN BEEP TUNED OUT

Forget "Friends" or "Frasier" - it's Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz who is close to disappearing from local TV this month. Brooklyn Community Access Television has severely cut back on...

RAPIST HANGS HIMSELF IN RIKERS ISLAND CELL

A man who unsuccessfully claimed at trial that his rape victim agreed to have sex with him after seeing "all of his manhood" hanged himself at Rikers Island just hours...

MUTTERING MAN IN GHOULISH BREAK-IN

Brooklyn man - who neighbors said had just lost his job - was arrested yesterday after breaking into a funeral home and trying to steal a half-dozen files, police said....

JOHN SHOULDERS SURGERY

Democrat John Kerry had complication-free outpatient surgery yesterday to repair a tear in his right shoulder and biceps tendons, and will be back shaking voters' hands soon, although not too...

SUBWAY FIREBUG HAD DEATH WISH: COPS

A deranged man who started a subway blaze that forced the evacuation of over 1,000 straphangers told cops he'd hoped for "death, death . . . 120 would die," newly...

-$5B TEACHER HIRING PLAN (M)-MIKE'S $5.3B SCHOOL PLAN (S, LCF)

The city would hire up to 20,000 additional teachers to reduce class size in all grades and expand pre-kindergarten programs for 3- and 4-year-olds as part of Mayor Bloomberg's ambitious,...

MAN HURT IN TRAFFIC HORROR

An 18-wheeler collided with a cherry picker in Long Island yesterday, sending a high-altitude worker tumbling to the ground, causing serious injury, officials said. Walter Panzner, 42, of East Islip,...

HE STOLE MY SON - TEEN'S MOM WEEPS AS HIS KILLER GETS LIFE

A grief-stricken mom broke down yesterday as she told a Queens courtroom how the slaying of her football-star son by a common thug ripped her world apart. "That changed my...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * Police yesterday released this photo of an emotionally disturbed teen who disappeared from her Canarsie home earlier this month. Asia McDonald, 14, was last seen by her family...

A CHANGE IN PRINCIPAL AT SOUTH SHORE

The principal of Brooklyn's South Shore HS, on Mayor Bloomberg's list of the dozen most dangerous schools, has abruptly stepped down, officials said yesterday. Stephen Berger, principal for eight years,...

ICE-CREAM GRANDMA WORSENS

A beloved East Harlem ice-cream vendor brutally beaten by business rivals underwent emergency surgery yesterday as her condition took a turn for the worse, relatives said. Jenny Marrero, 64, was...

QUEENS IS DI-VINE - FARM MUSEUM PLANTING SEEDS FOR WINERY

Forget Burgundy and Napa Valley; try some Maspeth Merlot or College Point Cabernet - Queens is a getting a vineyard. It's no April Fool's joke, says James Trent, founder of...

HS STUDENTS HAD GUN: COPS

Two Queens high school students were arrested on weapons charges yesterday when school safety officers caught them with a loaded revolver, police and school officials said. Samuel Tyquan, 17, and...

CLARKE: BAR 'MY' AD

WASHINGTON - Former counter-terrorism chief Richard Clarke wants an anti-Bush group to stop using his words in their new TV commercial, which label the president a "failure." But the group,...

COUNCIL TRIO: GROUND JETS PLAN

A trio of city council members lashed out yesterday at Mayor Bloomberg's plan to fund part of the Javits Convention Center expansion with money they say is meant to build...

FERRY VICTIMS TO FIGHT LAWSUIT DELAY

Lawyers for Staten Island Ferry crash victims are expected to fight a criminal prosecutor's request to put their lawsuits on the back burner as they make their first appearance before...

L.I. POL WANTS TO SEND INCUMBENTS PAC-ING

ALBANY - Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi announced yesterday the formation of a bipartisan "Fix Albany" political-action committee - aimed at shaking up state government by defeating incumbent lawmakers. Suozzi,...

MTA'S AID GAP SET TO $OCK METROCARD

Straphangers could be slapped with another fare hike and a barrage of service cuts next year if the MTA fails to get enough government aid to help close a projected...

HERE WE GO AGAIN: BUDGET LATE 20TH YEAR

ALBANY - New York set a two-decades-long record of failure today, entering its 20th fiscal year in a row without a new state budget in place. For many, it's become...

RADIO SHACK 'SLAY' JAILBIRDS

The three thugs charged with ending a disabled man's dream of a normal life in a deadly Long Island Radio Shack robbery are a rogues' gallery of convicted robbers, thieves...

SCHOOLGIRL KILLER RECANTS CONFESS

A 19-year-old ex-serviceman charged with brutally slaying a Bible-toting Catholic-school girl and tossing her mutilated body in a dumpster pleaded not guilty yesterday to murder - despite a confession he...

RAIDS HIT DRUG GANG

Drug agents busted a $5 million-a-month "ecstasy" ring yesterday in a sweep that netted more than 145 people in 12 states and Canada, authorities said. The alleged ringleaders, Ze Wai...

TYCO JUROR LEAVES 'EM LAUGHING

The Tyco trial's gesticulating juror caused yet another stir yesterday, when her quirky hand gestures - this time her repeated fidgeting with her hair and collar - led members of...

MTA TU$$LES FOR ARENA NET GAINS

MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow said yesterday he will play hardball so the agency gets "adequately compensated" for a three-block stretch of land in Brooklyn where developer Bruce Ratner plans to...

WHITE HOUSE'S FURIOUS REACTION: 'WE WON'T TURN BACK'

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration reacted with outrage to the scenes of an Iraqi mob abusing the charred corpses of four American contract workers yesterday - but said its mission...

TAKING BACK N.Y. - WEST SIDE JETS STADIUM: A LEAP WORTH MAKING

A NEW, $1.4 billion football stadium on top of a railroad yard on the edge of nowhere might seem like a far-fetched way to kick-start the renewal of Manhattan's wasted...

COCKEYED CLAIMS ON BOTH SIDES

CRITICS of the stadium raise legitimate questions - like: Just how will a 70,000-seat venue be used on the 355 days of the year without football? This is especially trenchant...

RANGERS PUT CHEERLEADERS ON THIN ICE

The Rangers' cheerleading squad was frozen out of the team's home finale last night - and might be put on ice for good. "No comment," said Madison Square Garden spokesman...

SUICIDE HORROR ON WEB - SICKO'S NYPD VID

A confidential police video that shows a young rapper kissing his girlfriend goodbye before blowing his brains out in a Bronx housing project turned up on a porn Web site...

'OBSCENE' OPRAH - FCC PROBES WINFREY AFTER 'STERN' WORDS

The FCC has taken the first step toward investigating Oprah Winfrey after receiving "more than a few complaints" about her show, a spokeswoman said yesterday. She said her agency is...

BARBARIANS OF FALLUJAH - * BUTCHERS KILL FOUR U.S. CIVILIANS * HANG MUTILATED BODIES ON BRIDGE * 5 GIS ALSO SLAIN ON DAY OF HORROR

Bloodthirsty Iraqi thugs ambushed four American workers in Fallujah yesterday, and a frenzied mob dragged their butchered bodies through the streets and hanged two of them from a bridge -...

CREDIT-CARD CABS GOING NOWHERE FAST

Taxi riders may not be going anywhere for a while if they pay their fare with a credit card. Using plastic to cover the cost of a cab ride took...

BILL TARGETS CON EDISON

Con Ed would have to conduct detailed checks of manhole covers and service boxes at least once every three years under a bill passed by the state Assembly yesterday. The...

MARTHA FUROR - TOSS 'LYING' JUROR'S VERDICT: LAWYERS

Lawyers for disgraced domestic diva Martha Stewart asked a judge yesterday to throw out her perjury conviction, saying that one of the jurors who found her guilty lied about his...

PELOSI PAL BOOKED IN AMMON SLAY

A second Long Island man - a longtime friend of indicted murder suspect Danny Pelosi - has been charged by the grand jury in the 2001 slaying of millionaire Ted...

PETER GOTTI'S MISTRESS DEAD AT L.I. MOTEL

The mistress of Gambino mob boss Peter Gotti was found dead yesterday less than a week after she vaulted to fame as the mobster's moll, police said. Marjorie Alexander was...

'VERSACE' WILL WEAR STRIPES

A federal judge in Manhattan yesterday ordered a man who claims to be Gianni Versace's cousin to go to jail in a long-running dispute over use of the family name....

FCC PROBES 'OBSCENE' WINFREY AFTER 'STERN' WORDS

The FCC has taken the first step toward investigating Oprah Winfrey after receiving "more than a few complaints" about her show, a spokeswoman said yesterday. The agency is reviewing the...

DON'S VENOMOUS WIFE PENNED POISON LETTER ASKING JUDGE FOR MAX

Peter Gotti's blatant cheating sparked intense resentment in his wife - who sought her revenge by urging a federal judge to sentence the Gambino boss to the max, The Post...

BARBARIANS OF FALLUJAH: BUTCHERS KILL FOUR U.S. CIVILIANS; HANG MUTILATED BODIES ON BRIDGE; 5 GIS ALSO SLAIN ON DAY OF HORROR

Bloodthirsty Iraqi thugs ambushed four U.S. civilians in Fallujah yesterday, dragged their burned and butchered bodies through the streets, and hung two of them from a bridge - while cheering...

FURIOUS BUSH VOWS: 'WE WILL NEVER BE INTIMIDATED'

WASHINGTON - President Bush and his aides vowed yesterday that the U.S. mission to create a free and democratic Iraq would not be derailed by the savage slaying of four...

HIZZONER'S STAR TURN

Memo to Mike Bloomberg: Don't quit your day job. In his first prime time network appearance, Hizzoner did a credible job playing himself in last night's episode of NBC's "Law...

THUGS SLAY TOT - 2 MEN ALSO SHOTIN BROOKLYN CAR

Two cowardly gunmen opened fire last night on a parked car in Brooklyn with three young children and two adults inside - killing a 2-year old boy, police said. The...

THUGS SLAY TOT - 2 MEN ALSO SHOT IN BROOKLYN CAR

Two cowardly gunmen opened fire last night on a parked car in Brooklyn with three young children and two adults inside - killing a 2-year old boy, police said. The...

CLASSROOM EXTRA: NEW YORK'S POET LAUREATE

He came to the big city looking for a newspaper job and wound up becoming the father of American poetry. Who does not know that our city is the great...

ACCESS TV LOWERS VOLUME ON B'KLYN BEEP

Forget "Friends" or "Frasier" - it's Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz who'll be disappearing off local TVs this month. Brooklyn Community Access Television has severely cut back on the cheerleading...

BRAGGING RAPIST HANGS HIMSELF IN RIKERS CELL

A man who unsuccessfully claimed at trial that his rape victim agreed to have sex with him after seeing "all of his manhood" hanged himself at Rikers Island this week...

'WE WON'T TURN BACK' - WHITE HOUSE VOWS TO OVERCOME EVIL THUGS

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration reacted with outrage to the scenes of an Iraqi mob abusing the charred corpses of four American contract workers yesterday - but said its mission...

AMAZIN'S MAY PULL OFF ERICKSON DEAL

MET NOTES VERO BEACH - With a surplus of able candidates for their rotation, the Mets are entertaining trade offers for Scott Erickson. The right-hander has pitched well this spring,...

ISLANDER RE-BERTH ONE VICTORY AWAY

Islanders 5 Habs 1 All the Islanders had to do to clinch their third consecutive playoff berth was beat the Canadiens last night - and pray for the Rangers to...

DL POSSIBLE FOR REYES - BARKING HAMMY FLARES UP YET AGAIN

PORT ST. LUCIE - Jose Reyes slammed his bat into the blue wooden rack on Field 2 and walked off in frustration. The news was terrible for Reyes and the...

DOLAN SLASHES TICKET PRICES, BACKS SATHER

Proving true to his words of last April, Jim Dolan last night affirmed that Ranger ticket prices for next season - or for the next hockey season's - will be...

BATTLE'S STILL ON FOR 5TH STARTER

Dodgers 11 - Mets 5 VERO BEACH - The Mets have four days before they break camp for Atlanta. The back end of their rotation could not be more disheveled....

HIS FINAL BOW? - FANS SAY THANKS AS MESSIER LIKELY CLOSES HIS CAREER

Sabres 4 - Rangers 3 There were the graceful bows with a flourish to the fans who adore him, the on-ice curtain call demanded by a city forever graced by...

MATSUI 'THE HAPPIEST MAN IN THE WORLD'

TOKYO - They stayed. To celebrate and congratulate. To squeeze a few more minutes of joy out of this event and to pinch themselves to make sure it actually happened....

A-ROD LEAVES JAPAN AT .111

Yankees 12 - Devil Rays 1 TOKYO - Alex Rodriguez had one hit in nine Yankees at-bats, and if the team hadn't salvaged a split against the Devil Rays with...

TURF TOUGH ON GIAMBI

YANKEE NOTES TOKYO - Three games, one that counted in which he homered and doubled, and Jason Giambi's surgically repaired left knee was cranky enough for Joe Torre to lift...

HAPPY YANKEES HEAD FOR HOMER - POWER SURGE ZAPS RAYS

TOKYO - Down a run early to the morbid Devil Rays yesterday, after losing the first of a two-game series on Opening Day, Joe Torre sensed his club was tense...

ST. JOHN'S REFOCUSING ON MULLIN

SAN ANTONIO - The St. John's coaching search is about to shift into overdrive. Father Donald J. Harrington, the university's president, was expected to return from Rome late Tuesday night...

MIKE, DOG SINK TO SLANDER

"A lie gets half way 'round the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Winston ChurchillI TAKE a lot of shots in my column,...

ISLES STRETCHIN' IT OUT - PLAYOFF BERTH BATTLE GOES DOWN TO WIRE

Down the stretch they came last night, the Islanders just a broken nose in front of the Sabres for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The...

FINAL FOUR CLUBS ALL ROAD TOUGH

SAN ANTONIO - Thanks in large part to Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese, the former chair of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, coaches have gotten the word that whom you...

NEEDLES AND PINS - MYSTERY TREATMENT MIGHT POINT WAY BACK FOR KIDD

WASHINGTON - And now for something completely different. After trying ice, rest and electrical stimulus, Jason Kidd has turned to "a form" of acupuncture to aid his ailing left knee....

RUTGERS READY TO TAKE NEXT IMPORTANT STEP

Ricky Shields helped Rutgers get to the NIT two years ago as a freshman. After that season's success, he thought that the Scarlet Knights' troubles would be over. "When you...

STILL NO LEADER IN METS' FIFTH-STARTER DERBY

VERO BEACH - James Baldwin's wife and two kids are back home in North Carolina. What they don't know is where James will be in a few days. "My stuff's...

GOWIN IS NEW JET PUNTER

The Jets yesterday signed free agent Toby Gowin, which means they'll enter the 2004 season with a new punter for the fourth season in a row. Gowin will replace Dan...

BAD NEWS FOR REYES - OPENER UNLIKELY AS HAMMY BARKS AGAIN

PORT ST. LUCIE - Late yesterday afternoon, Jose Reyes slammed his bat into the wooden rack on Field 2 and walked off in frustration. The news was not good for...

HOU GOTTA BELIEVE - ISIAH NOT READY TO SHELVE ALLAN BEFORE PLAYOFFS

Last weekend both Allan Houston and Knicks GM Isiah Thomas admitted the guard might miss the rest of the season and not return until next season. But yesterday Thomas said...

DOLAN SLASHES TICKET PRICES, BACKS SLATS

Proving true to his words of last April, Jim Dolan last night affirmed that Ranger ticket prices for next season - or for the next hockey season's - will be...

AMAZIN'S MAY DEAL ERICKSON

MET NOTES VERO BEACH - With a surplus of able candidates for their rotation, the Mets are entertaining trade offers for Scott Erickson. The right-hander has pitched well this spring,...

WIZARDS COACH HAPPY HE DIDN'T STICK AROUND

NET NOTES WASHINGTON - Eddie Jordan has no regrets. Not too many wins, but absolutely no regrets. Jordan, the heir apparent to Byron Scott as the coach of the Nets,...

NO WINNER YET IN METS' 5TH-STARTER DERBY

VERO BEACH - The Mets have four days before they break camp for Atlanta. The back end of their rotation could not be more disheveled. In the Mets' final week...

PAIN STOPS K-MART IN COMEBACK

OVERTIME: Nets 103 - Wizards 99 WASHINGTON - This was the time for the Nets to finally prevail in the end-game. But it wasn't Kenyon Martin's time to return to...

FANS SHOWER LOVE ON MESS BUT CAPT. STILL HEDGES ON RETIREMENT

Sabres 4 - Rangers 3 There were the graceful bows with a flourish to the fans who adore him, the on-ice curtain call demanded by a city forever graced by...

KIDD'S RETURN IS NOW ON NEEDLES AND PINS

NET NOTES WASHINGTON - After trying ice, rest and electrical stimulus, Jason Kidd has turned to "a Form of acupuncture" to aid his ailing left knee. And the preliminary response...

ISLE RE-BERTH ONE WIN AWAY

Isles 5 - Habs 1 All the Islanders had to do to clinch their third consecutive playoff berth was beat the Canadiens last night - and pray for the Rangers...

QUICK-HEALING KAZ RETURNS TO LINEUP

MET NOTES VERO BEACH - The Mets got some good news on the injury front when Kaz Matsui returned to the lineup last night against the Dodgers. The rookie shortstop,...