October 4, 2002

NY TAX $$ FOR REPAIRS AT 90 WEST

To ensure the restoration of a landmarked building that was ravaged by fire and partially destroyed in the collapse of the World Trade Center, its Midwestern owners may be handed...

WENDT IS SACKED - CONSECO BOOTS EXEC, LAUNCHES CEO SEARCH

In the end, Gary Wendt went. The chairman and CEO of Conseco lost one of his jobs yesterday when he was booted as CEO. The company said that Wendt will...

GUNMAKER AIMS AT CYCLISTS

No, there is not a holster on the handle bars. The name Smith & Wesson will figure prominently on the company's new line of bicycles, however. The arms manufacturer has...

3 MAGS HATCHING IN CN NEST - JAMES TRUMAN TO HEAD NEW INCUBATOR

CONDE Nast is creating an incubator for new magazine ideas under the eyes of editorial director James Truman. Truman tells Media Ink that S.I. Newhouse Jr., chairman of Conde Nast...

IT'S SWEETNESS AND LIGHT FOR SPITZER AND PITT

An unusual peace broke out among regulators who agreed yesterday to put aside differences and band together to craft tough new rules for Wall Street's unruly brokerages. But the jury...

IT'S TEXAS TEA-TIME - ANTITRUST BOSS JAMES IS JOINING CHEVRON

President Bush's top trust buster - who quashed a Microsoft breakup and let the company off the hook - has resigned to take a $1 million-a-year-plus job with oil giant...

IT'S 'BLOODY' COMPELLING

BLOODY SUNDAY [1/2] Vivid view of The Troubles. Running time: 110 minutes. Rated R (violence, profanity). At the Lincoln Square and the Union Square. -------- 'BLOODY Sunday" is an astonishing...

LOONY FOR CLOONEY IN SLAPSTICK CAPER FLICK

WELCOME TO COLLINWOOD [1/2]Running time: 86 minutes. Rated R (language). At Loews Lincoln Square, Broadway & 68th St.; the Angelika, Houston & Mercer streets. -------------- THE first feature from writer-directors...

A SHALLOW LEAD HELPS MAKE A HOLLOW 'PIPE'

PIPE DREAM [] A stinker. Running time: 91 minutes. Rated R (language, sexual content). At the Empire, the Quad and the Sutton. --------- IT is a requirement of romantic comedies,...

'HEAVEN' IS HELL

HEAVEN [] Banal, "spiritual" Euro-thriller. In English and Italian, with English subtitles. Running time: 93 minutes. Rated R (brief violence, adult themes). At the Angelika, the Lincoln Plaza. ----------- THE...

ATHENIAN TRAGEDY IMPORTED IN SEXY SPLENDOR

MEDEAAt the BAM Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn. Through Oct. 12. Call BAM at (718) 636-4100 or Ticketmaster, (212) 307-4100. ------- SEX! Jealousy! Murder! Dark glasses! Swimming pools! Euripides'...

NYFF: SANDLER TO SEOUL

MANY of the movies unreeling this weekend at the New York Film Festival are sold out, but that doesn't mean you can't get in. Tickets are often available at the...

ALL-NIGHT JAM SWEET

JAMMYS ------- IN all of show business, there is no more aptly named awards events than the Jammys. The event at the Roseland Ballroom Wednesday was light on presentation, long...

WE'RE NO. 2!

CBS and NBC are bumping heads over which has the honest-to-goodness No. 1 new comedy of the year, CBS claims its new show, "Still Standing," has bragging rights - but...

BLISTERING 'DRAGON' - BUT EERIE TALE OF SCARY KILLER LACKS BITE

RED DRAGON [] Efficient remake.Running time: 126 minutes. Rated R (violence, gore, brief male nudity). At the Empire, the Loews 84th St., the Chelsea Cinemas, others. --------- THE good news...

DAD LUSTS FOR DAUGHTER. VERY FUNNY

"Bram And Alice" [ ] Sunday night at 8 on WCBS/Ch. 2 --------- THE whole idea of "Bram And Alice" sounded so smarmy I knew I'd hate it. Since I'm...

3 GREAT PERFORMANCES SAVE 'OLD' PLOT

MY OLD LADYAt the Promenade Theater, 76th Street and Broadway. Tele-charge, (212) 239-6200 -------- 'MY Old Lady" is a nice, old-fashioned play with juicy parts for its three stars and...

MEET THE NEW 'BACHELOR'

AMERICA is getting its first real look at the new "Bachelor' - Aaron Buerge - and the back-biting has begun. ABC had kept the lid on the latest star of...

JON BON JOVIAL - EMPATHETIC ROCKER ON MARRIAGE, 'ALLY' & IRAQ

IN rock 'n' roll, few men have managed to juggle their private and public lives the way Jon Bon Jovi has. The world knows him for the 93 million albums...

A DINOSAUR EPIC THAT'S REALLY BIG

"The Lost World" [ 1/2] Sunday and Monday nights at 8 p.m. on A&E -------- 'THE Lost World" was not only a masterpiece for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, it gave...

GRAND GRACEFUL GIMMICKS

MOMIX IN ORBITThe Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave. at 19th Street. (212) 242-0800. Season runs through Oct. 13. ---------- Kori Darling and Pi Keohavong appear in "Momix." YOU'VE gotta have...

STARR REPORT

It's Post production time for two movies The Post is featured prominently in a scene in "Rudy's Wars," USA's movie based on ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani that begins shooting early next...

STILL FLYING HIGH - MACKINTOSH SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT MARY - POPPINS

NOW that "Les Miserables" is closing, "The Phantom of the Opera" is the last of the British mega-musicals left on Broadway. How long can it keep going? Could it overtake...

BARBARA-NBC FIGHT FOR FIDEL

ABC and NBC have a Cuban crisis of their own. Barbara Walters has snagged an exclusive interview with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro on the 40th anniversary of the Cuban Missile...

BUSBOY COMES CLEAN - GUILTY OF CYBERSCAMMING FINANCE SUPERSTARS

A Brooklyn busboy put on a sad face yesterday as he pleaded guilty to cyberscamming 200 of the "Richest People in America" listed in Forbes magazine, including Martha Stewart. Abraham...

2ND SUSPECT CLEARED IN '96 RAPE AND SLAY

A Queens man who was the second person accused of committing a gunpoint rape and a murder during two days in 1996 was cleared of all charges yesterday. The jury...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A Florida town is threatening to lock up anybody who bares more than one-third of his or her buttocks in public. Women would also have to cover at least one-quarter...

RAGER AIMS CAR AT TICKET-WRITER: COPS

A man who was double-parked in front of a Queens courthouse tried to mow down a court officer for giving him a ticket, authorities said yesterday. The driver, who told...

HUSH PUPPY? MIKE'S MUZZLING MISGUIDED

A MASSACRE in Montgomery County, Md., horrifies us. The beat of war drums worries us. But amid all the sturm und drang, Mayor Mike manages to draw a smile with...

LANDOWNER: WEST ST. TUNNEL NOT THAT COSTLY

A West Street tunnel could be built in lower Manhattan for far less than the $2.8 billion estimated by development officials - making it feasible to create a grand promenade...

BUSH WINS AGAIN - 'STRATEGERY' TRIUMPHS

THEY all laughed at George W. Bush when he said "strategery" instead of "strategy." But ho ho ho, who's got the last laugh now? I offer my apologies to the...

MCCALL MAY KO SELF WITH SLOW COUNTERPUNCH

FACING a crisis on the campaign trail, political heavyweights will get off the mat and rapidly rise to battle. When candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton was accused in 2000 of making...

GWYNETH PALTROW'S DIRECTOR DAD DIES

Gwyneth Paltrow was at her father Bruce's side yesterday when the producer and director died in Rome. Paltrow, who celebrated her 30th birthday last week, was driven away from San...

PENTAGON 'SLIGHT' UPSETS WTC KIN

ARLINGTON, Va. - Relatives of World Trade Center victims were stunned yesterday to learn that a Pentagon memorial to Sept. 11 will contain no reference to the carnage at the...

PRIESTS TOLD: GET A LAWYER

PRIESTS should remain silent and get lawyers whenever their bishops confront them with sexual-abuse allegations, a well-respected church attorney told a room full of clerics who met yesterday. "In the...

LIZZIE'S LASHED BY LAWSUIT NUMBER 9

Lizzie Grubman has been slapped with another suit stemming from her Hamptons smashup last summer - the ninth action against her to date. Darryl Bernstein claims he was in the...

BRATTON VOWS TO BANISH LAPD BLUES

LOS ANGELES - Former NYPD Commissioner William Bratton vowed yesterday to clean up the scandal-plagued Los Angeles police force, promising to wipe clean any tarnish on "the most famous shield"...

TAKE PRIDE, CARL

NOW that the Carl McCall Employment Agency has officially closed down business, maybe the candidate can focus on another subject he has consistently refused to address - his race. McCall,...

PREZ FIRST TALKED OF EXECUTION FOR LINDH

WASHINGTON - President Bush wanted American Taliban John Walker Lindh executed if prosecutors could have proven that he helped kill a CIA agent, according to a new book. Bush later...

MARTHA'S A QUITTER: FLEES STOX BOARD AMID GROWING SCANDAL

Queen of clean Martha Stewart finally acknowledged she's in hot water yesterday by resigning from the prestigious New York Stock Exchange board - but insisted she's still smiling. As the...

AIRTRAIN DRIVER IS EULOGIZED

Hundreds of mourners packed a Queens church yesterday to bid a tearful farewell to the driver killed during a test of the sleek, futuristic AirTrain service linking Kennedy Airport with...

BUSH'S UNITED NATIONS - ALLIED COALITION WOULD TACKLE SADDAM WITHOUT U.N.

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday ran into strong U.N. Security Council resistance to tough new demands on Iraq, and renewed his warning that America and some allies are ready to...

KLEIN PLAN MAKES CHOOSERS LOSERS

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein yesterday promised that a massive study he's ordered will produce sweeping reforms of the city's troubled school system - but it looks as if it won't...

'SNIPE SPREE' EX-COP SENT TO PSYCH WARD

The former NYPD cop accused of spraying bullets from his Stuyvesant Town apartment window - and wounding a preschool teacher - was ordered held for psychiatric evaluation yesterday, officials said....

GOING POSTAL AT U.N. - MAIL WORKER SHOOTS UP TOWER IN PROTEST

A postal clerk from Illinois, with a grudge against North Korea, fired seven shots yesterday at the United Nations Secretariat Building, authorities said. One shot hit the 18th floor and...

MANHATTAN DOC DEAD IN CARIBBEAN MYSTERY

A Manhattan doctor was found dead with his throat slashed while vacationing in Jamaica, cops said. The body of anesthesiologist Karl Christian, 42, was discovered in a Montego Bay hotel...

NO HOLDS BARRED AS WRESTLER RIPS ACCUSER

Hulking wrestling megastar Triple H pulled no punches in his courthouse debut yesterday as he slapped down a disgruntled ex-colleague, depicting her as a no-talent wimp. Bodybuilding behemoth Nicole Bass...

TEACHER'S 'SEX' PET - FLAUNTED BOY AS 'JANITOR' BEAU: MOTHER

The mother of the Catholic high-school teacher accused of taking a 16-year-old student on a wild sexual odyssey through The Bronx's seamier side told The Post yesterday that her daughter...

CARL GOES ON ATTACK OVER GOV'S ED HIRING$

The day after apologizing for the "Lettergate" scandal, Carl McCall yesterday launched an ethics attack against Gov. Pataki - accusing him of appointing campaign donors to education positions. McCall's campaign...

BLOOMY NO PARTNER TO 'GAY' BILL

Mayor Bloomberg last night said he opposes a bill before the City Council that would force contractors who do business with the city to provide domestic-partner benefits. He told gay...

GRAFFITI TOURISTS NABBED: COPS

Two graffiti vandals who spent their New York vacation using subway trains, stations and buildings as their private canvas were busted last night, police said. Jack S. Tymoszuk, 24 of...

GIRL PLUNGES FOUR STORIES AS WINDOW GUARD GIVES WAY

A 4-year-old Brooklyn girl plunged four stories to the ground and broke her hip yesterday after pushing out a badly installed window guard, cops and officials said. Halima Mohamed was...

ORDINARY LIVES COME TO A TRAGIC HALT

They were ordinary people doing ordinary things in a leafy Washington suburb. James Martin was leaving a grocery store. James Buchanan was mowing a shopping-mall lawn. Cabby Prenkumar Walekar was...

DAY AND NIGHT OF THE HUNTER: MD. PSYCHO WHO KILLED 5 WILL STRIKE AGAIN: COPS

Suburban D.C. cops are hunting for a "skilled shooter" who killed five people during a 16-hour murder spree, gunning each down with a single bullet like a hunter picking off...

'DS' LIKELY FOR KIDS WHO SNORE

Kids who snore are more likely to get bad grades in school, new research suggests. Those children who snore have significantly lower marks in math and spelling tests than those...

B'KLYN GIRL PLUNGES FOUR FLOORS

A 4-year-old Brooklyn girl plunged four stories to the ground and broke her hip yesterday after pushing out a badly installed window guard, cops and officials said. Little Halima Mohamed...

'SEX' TEACH: IT'S A LIE - FACES JUDGE ON CHARGES OF BOY TRYST

The 34-year-old Catholic high school teacher accused of taking a 16-year-old student on a wild sexual odyssey through the Bronx's seamier side looked like a prim schoolmarm in court yesterday....

CURSE OF THE KHAT PEOPLE

Police are on the lookout for an illegal crimson-brown, East African plant called khat that produces a mild cocaine-like euphoria and which authorities said could be used to bankroll terrorists....

QUICK-DRAW IRAQI VEEP: LET'S DUEL!

WASHINGTON - One of Saddam Hussein's chief henchmen yesterday said President Bush and Saddam should settle their differences mano a mano - with a duel. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan could...

PROFILER: BLOOD-LUSTING FIEND WILL BE BACK

The sinister sharpshooter who killed five people in the Washington-area murder spree isn't finished - and will be going after more victims, experts said yesterday. "He probably is or was...

HORROR NIGHT OF THE HUNTER : MD. PSYCHO WHO KILLED 5 WILL STRIKE AGAIN: COPS

The coldblooded sharpshooter who gunned down five people like a hunter blowing away his prey was still on the loose last night after an apparently random, 16-hour murder spree. And...

NOW CARL'S TRYING TO DO A 'JOB' ON PATAKI

The day after apologizing for the "Lettergate" scandal, Carl McCall yesterday launched an ethics attack against Gov. Pataki - accusing him of appointing campaign donors to education positions. McCall's campaign...

THE FAN'S CORNER

Liz Buckmir's brother, who forced her to write to The Post, describes her as very bold and opinionated. Liz says her big brother needs to grow some, er, courage for...

DON'T TRUST THE STAR - TAKE BIG BLUE OVER HOT-AND-COLD COWBOYS

EVEN since the Cowboys started this down cycle, they've matched up well with the Giants. Last year, they won in Big D and ambushed Big Blue at Giants Stadium, taking...

A 'MONSTER' CATCH

IT is the time of year when striped bass fishing gets into full swing, but there is also some very good bottom fishing for sea bass at many inshore reefs...

GREEN'S NEW 'D' GETS CHIEF TEST

JET NOTES Herm Edwards said that the players he has inserted into the Jets' new defensive rotation have looked good so far during practice, but he knows all that matters...

ISLE ROOKIES CATCH COACH'S EYE

When Mike Milbury walks down the hallway this weekend, some rookies might duck the other way to stay out of sight. Faced with the unique luxury of having the richest...

DEVS SHORT ON RIGHT

Light on right, the lefties are so numerous the Devils resemble Berkeley East. Of the 23 skaters remaining in camp, 18 are lefthanded shots, a factor that could help pesky...

MOSS MUST HELP JETS ... AND FAST

The Jets drafted Santana Moss after seeing his blazing speed at the University of Miami and expected him to make an immediate impact on offense. He is now four games...

REED ISN'T WEEPING FOR METS

ALDS NOTEBOOK MINNEAPOLIS - There's no looking back for Rick Reed at the rubble of the Mets he left behind. As a veteran traded in the middle of a multi-year...

ANGELS SPARKED BY POWER

ANAHEIM - Troy Glaus must have a skewed sense of proportion. The Anaheim third baseman insists his high-flying Angels grabbed home-field advantage from the Yankees because they've done all the...

NO PLACE LIKE DOME - HOME-FIELD NOISE GIVES TWINS EDGE

MINNEAPOLIS - Bad idea, an indoor baseball stadium in a place people are cooped up for winters that seem even longer than the Twins can go between having competitive teams....

GIVE THIS GAME A FAILING GRADE

ESPN will both reward and enable a disgrace tomorrow night when it televises Arkansas-Tennessee, a game between SEC schools whose football graduation rates are both in single digits. According to...

MLB 'BOOK' JUST A RUNNING JOKE

YOU watch TV and you wonder: When did it all begin to turn? Why, knowing what we now know, hasn't it reversed course? Why do such obvious, indisputable and easily...

GIANTS VS. 'BOYS IS SPECIAL AFFAIR

Daryl Jones stood at the far end of the Giants' practice bubble fielding punt after punt yesterday. The rookie wasn't sure if he'd be on the return team Sunday in...

MUSSINA REMAINS JOE'S GUY

ANAHEIM - Mike Mussina can laugh about his regular season, even though there were times he felt like crying. He can laugh about the seven earned runs he gave up...

ORTIZ ANXIOUS TO CUT LOOSE

ANAHEIM - The Angels always knew - or hoped - that Ramon Ortiz would mature into a top-flight major league pitcher. Heaven was able to wait, and now the Halos...

TORRE'S MISTAKES COSTLY

ANAHEIM - Pinstripe Panic is in the air. The corner outfielders are struggling, the starting pitching has been abysmal, the All-Star catcher is swinging at everything and missing, the usually...

DISILLUSIONMENT RULES NBA

THESE are terribly disillusioning times. After a lifetime of dominating dentists' chairs, I found out there's decay after root canal; it's the first time I've ever gotten shots of Novocain...

JINT D-LINE GOES LIMPING INTO DALLAS

GIANT NOTES All three of the Giants' defensive linemen injured in last weekend's loss in Arizona are considered at least probable to start Sunday's game in Dallas. The question is...

O'NEILL MISSES PLAYOFF PARTY

ANAHEIM - Paul O'Neill's summer was spent with his family and breaking into the TV business with a part-time gig on the YES Network. Because of that, O'Neill said his...

BOMBERS COULD BE IN TROUBLE

ANAHEIM - If the Yankees didn't take the Angels seriously - they keep referring to them as scrappy - that all changed Wednesday night in The Bronx. The Angels battered...

MOOSE & WELLS DIFFERENT GUYS WITH THE SAME TASK

ANAHEIM - Late Wednesday night, following a four-hour, 11-minute Game 2 that pushed well beyond midnight, Mike Mussina and David Wells stood about 20 feet apart in the Yankee Stadium...

WHO WILL HAVE SHANDON'S BACK?

KNICK NOTES CHARLESTON - With Clarence Weatherspoon as the current backup small forward to Shandon Anderson, the Knicks are eyeing former Clipper/Wizard free agent swingman Tyrone Nesby. Knicks GM Scott...

FOR NETS, ROOM FOR ONLY TWO

Brian Scalabrine swears that there's no animosity between Brandon Armstrong, rookie Tamar Slay and himself. The three are battling for the Nets' final two roster spots, but you couldn't tell...

BOMBS AWAY AT BELMONT!

It was longshot heaven at Belmont Park yesterday as two $100 horses helped create a huge pick 3 return and a 111G Pick Six carryover into today. The fourth race...

SORIANO TAKES BP, WILL PLAY

ANAHEIM - Alfonso Soriano twisted and turned, trying to find a comfortable position on the Yankees' red-eye charter flight here Wednesday night after an 8-6 loss to the Angels in...

O'NEILL MISSING POSTSEASON PARTY

ANAHEIM - Paul O'Neill's summer was spent with his family and breaking into the TV business with a part-time gig on the YES Network. Because of that, O'Neill said his...

YANKS BAWL OVER STRIKE

ALDS NOTEBOOK ANAHEIM - It's no secret the Yankees often send a tape of an umpire's bad call to Major League Baseball headquarters on Park Avenue because that's George Steinbrenner's...

STATUS QUO IRKS MR. OCTOBER

ANAHEIM - Reggie Jackson wondered yesterday why Willie Randolph does not have a managing job while admitting he was "dumbfounded" that Steve Phillips has retained his Mets' GM title. In...

V'S HIT LIST HAS 'EM SCRAMBLING

At a time when the Mets were moving forward on their managerial search, they spent at least part of yesterday cleaning Bobby Valentine's dirty laundry. Assistant GM Jim Duquette phoned...

METS WILL TALK WITH CHAMBLISS

The Post has learned the Mets will interview hitting coach Chris Chambliss today as the first candidate to fill their managerial vacancy. The club also has called the Yankees regarding...

UP IN ARMS - OR DOWN THE DRAIN - YANKS MUST GET-PITCH-QUICK TO SURVIVE ANGEL UPRISING

ANAHEIM - There was no panic in the voice. Nor was the volume turned up. Yet, George Steinbrenner certainly didn't like what he saw in Game 2 of the ALDS...

SAY SPREE HURT HAND DURING BOAT FRACAS

CHARLESTON - It was either a fight with the angry sea that busted Latrell Sprewell's right hand or, according to two eyewitnesses, just an angry fight. Sprewell's agent, Bob Gist,...

SPREE BROKE PINKIE IN YACHT MISHAP

CHARLESTON - It was indeed a fight that broke Latrell Sprewell's right pinkie - a fight with the angry sea, The Post has learned. Sprewell told his agent Bob Gist...

5 QUESTIONS FOR LEE CORSO

The message on ESPN college football analyst Lee Corso's voice mail says, "College football season has started. Life is good." Indeed, few people take as much joy in their work...

MARCHAND'S MATCHUP OF THE WEEK

PHIL SIMMS vs. JOHN MADDEN NFL coaches complain about John Madden's commentary, according to broadcasters. The coaches say ABC's Madden fails to grasp the contemporary concepts of the NFL, which...

TWO GOOD: MCCARVER & BUCK DELIVER IN ALDS

In Tuesday night's Game 1 of Yankees-Angels, Fox's Tim McCarver and Joe Buck reminded us why they're still the best baseball tandem around. In the fourth inning, with Jason Giambi...

BEEN THERE, WON THAT: YANKS' BIG EDGE: EXPERIENCE

The last time the Yankees headed west for a playoff Game 3, they needed Derek Jeter's now-legendary catch-and-flip play to survive the A's. But the bottom line is, they won....