February 15, 2005
MILSTEIN PLAN HITS A SNAG
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amAFTER years of internecine family struggle and false starts, it's back to square one at the Milstein development site at Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street. Brothers Howard and Edward Milstein,...
AIG SUBPOENAED - SPITZER, SEC TARGET SHADY INSURANCE POLICIES
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amJust when investors thought the clouds of controversy were clearing from over Maurice "Hank" Greenberg's AIG Corp. - subpoenas again rained down upon the world's largest insurance company. AIG said...
SCOTT, BERNIE DRAMA DELAY
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amThe Bernard Ebbers criminal fraud trial was stopped dead in its tracks yesterday, just as jurors prepared for the start of a vicious cross-examination of the government's key witness. Scott...
NASCAR TAKING LEAD IN TALKS WITH TV 'NETS
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amHotter than ever among advertisers, Nascar is primed to negotiate its television deals with broadcast networks Fox and NBC. Advertisers are paying an average of $375,000 - a 10 percent...
SAKS' SALE CHAT - LUXURY RETAILER HELD DISCUSSIONS WITH FEDERATED
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amSaks Inc. has held discussions with Federated Department Stores about the sale of its middle market department stores, The Post has learned. The talks, which have taken place over the...
VERIZON-MCI DEAL CREATES TOP TELECOM
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amVerizon is taking title as America's top telecommunications conglomerate - call it a teleclom - and holds an edge in the forthcoming teleclom wars against rival newborn teleclom, SBC, at...
GRASSO WINS RIGHT TO NOTES ON $190M PAY
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amIn the paycheck battle of the decade, Dick Grasso finally got his hands on 1,000 pages of raw notes that led to a legal fight over his controversial $190 million...
EX-TIMES CRITIC GETS MOVIE GIG
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amEx-New York Times film critic Elvis Mitchell - who stormed off his post in last year's shakeup at the paper - has a new Hollywood job as talent scout. Mitchell...
FOX'S SNOW: 'I HAVE CANCER'
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amFOX News Channel political contributor Tony Snow told listeners of his daily radio show yesterday that he has been diagnosed with colon cancer. Snow, 49, established the cable network's popular...
IMPULSE BUY - BROKE A NAIL? GET ME THE 'GASTINEAU GIRLS'
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amCALL it "Six Degrees of Blonde Reality TV." But the latest train wreck of a reality show, "Gastineau Girls," which premieres tonight on E!, is, oddly enough, connected to all...
NIP AND DUCK - NURSING MOM: OUT IN PUBLIC, CITY FOLKS GO WITH THE FLOW
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amI showed Gov. Pataki my breast. In public. And he didn't bat an eye. I'm not a flasher - I'm a nursing mother. And generally a modest one. But when...
SUBWAY TO THE OLD WEST
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amYEEEHAW! The subway between Grand Central Station and Times Square is going back in time to promote the return of "Deadwood," HBO's hit, gritty series about the Old West. Starting...
SOAP LEGEND'S STUFF UP FOR AUCTION
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amFANS of the late soap queen Ruth Warrick might want to check out an upcoming auction of her personal belongings. Included are a number of objects related to her first...
WHERE IS THE LOVE? - J.LO AND MARC ANTHONY CAN'T LOOK EACH OTHER IN THE EYE; THEIR EYES WIDE SHUT
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amIF this is the look of love, we'd hate to see detachment. So concluded body-language experts, marriage therapists and other observers following Sunday's Grammy Awards duet between Jennifer Lopez and...
BABY GOT BACK
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amHERE are some gowns we can really get behind. Dangerously derriere-grazing dresses ruled the red carpet at the Grammys on Sunday night - and promise to dominate Oscar night on...
EXPRESS CHECK-IN - GOSSIP, HOT TOPICS AND OTHER NEWS YOU'LL USE
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amIN FASHION FASHION Week is so over, for which we're thankful. At Vivienne Tam, NYPT contributor Laurie Heifetz found hotelier Jason Pomeranc, who talked about St. Barths and how he...
NOW, THE HORSE-TRADING
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amTHE results of Iraq's first free elections are in. They're better than any realist could have expected. And, predictably, the media are grasping at every possible negative. Let's look at...
CHARLES' NUPS MAY BE ILLEGAL
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amGive Prince Charles some tea and sympathy - his upcoming civil marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles may be illegal, British law historians said yesterday. Britain's Marriage Act, enacted in 1836,...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amIt's not Harvard or Yale, but the Kissing School in Seattle promises to make you a scholar in locking lips. Couples pay psychotherapist Cherie Byrd $275 to learn the proper...
VALENTINES' LOVE SURVIVES MEDDLING BY JOYLESS JUDGE
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amTHE state has stepped in seeking to reunite two senior citizen lovers whose romance was torn asunder by a sourpuss judge. "This is the best Valentine's Day present I could...
GONZALES SWORN IN AS NEW ATT'Y GEN.
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush welcomed Alberto Gonzales as the nation's first Latino attorney general yesterday, touting the new top lawman as a "model of courage and character" who "has my...
NEW FERRY FIRM TO PLY HUDSON
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amHudson River ferry service will continue uninterrupted, after the Port Authority reached a tentative deal with Billybey Ferry Co. to shuttle 15,000 daily riders in and out of lower Manhattan,...
BACK FROM THE DEAD - ISRAEL 'RETURNS' 15 THUGS
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amJERUSALEM - Tens of thousands of Palestinians, some wearing mock homicide-bomber explosive belts, celebrated in the Gaza Strip yesterday as Israel handed over the remains of 15 terrorists. Crowds poured...
PARENTS PLEAD FOR L.I. RUNAWAY
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amThe parents of a Long Island teen missing for more than two weeks pleaded yesterday for her safe return home from the clutches of a registered sex offender. "I want...
STATE GOP BIG: DEMS PARTY OF TERROR
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amALBANY - In a stunning attack, the head of the New York Republican Party yesterday charged that Democrats are the party of terrorist supporters. State GOP Chairman Steven Minarik, commenting...
MOVIE STUDIOS SUE CYBER CINE'VILES'
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amA coalition of movie studios has sued the operators of a Web site they claim sold pirated copies of popular films and TV shows, according to court papers made public...
MASTERPIECE - BUT IT ISN'T 'THE GATES'
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amTELL a New Yorker that what he's seeing is a work of art, and you can shut him up instantly. Most Manhattanites hate George W. Bush, but if you told...
DEM, GOPER SUING STATE GOVERNMENT
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amALBANY - Two state lawmakers will file suit today challenging the "three men in a room" manner under which New York state government functions. Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) and Assemblyman...
KLEIN RIPS GOV'S 'WOEFUL' BUDGET
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amALBANY - Schools Chancellor Joel Klein yesterday criticized Gov. Pataki's proposed education budget as "woefully inadequate." "The impact will be to continue to deny our students their constitutional rights [to...
'UNDIE THIEF' LAWYER HAD QUIT CITY JOB
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amA lawyer for the city resigned the day before she was busted for allegedly shoplifting more than $100 worth of sexy underwear and artificial roses, it was revealed yesterday. Danielle...
GRAMMY GUY CITY WORKER
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amNot too many Grammy winners were back at their desks yesterday preparing for another routine, 9-to-5 workday. Then again, there aren't many winners like Peter Nater, who plays in a...
PATAKIS HAD BOOK WORM - PUSHED LIBBY TOME ON DONORS
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amALBANY - One of Gov. Pataki's top campaign aides was enlisted to help push sales of Libby Pataki's new children's book to political contributors, it was revealed yesterday. The governor's...
DOG'S A MIND BREEDER - 'PSYCHIC' POOCH AT BIG SHOW
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amGUESS what, all you lonely dog freaks. There's something new to hit the kibble circuit: A psychic dog. No, I'm not talking about a dog psychic - that tiresome human...
GEM-KILL GAL PAL CALLED 'A VICTIM'
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amThe girlfriend of accused jeweler-slayer Christopher DiMeo "is a victim" who was forced to do heroin and participate in the crime spree that left three dead, her lawyer said outside...
BENCH JUDGE: PANEL - LET PAL PAD BILL
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amA Brooklyn judge who lined his buddy's pockets with millions in dead people's money should be booted from the bench, a state disciplinary panel has ruled. Surrogate Court Judge Michael...
'MARRY' KAY AND VILI'S WISH LIST - TEACHER-STUDENT LOVERS ON MACY'S BRIDAL REGISTRY
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amSchoolteacher seductress Mary Kay Letourneau is marrying her former jailbait, Vili Fualaau - and the controversial couple wants some pretty plates and platters to set up house together. The lovers,...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amTHE BRONX * Cops have released a photo of the ex-con wanted in the savage beating his girlfriend in her Bronx apartment last week, just two days after he was...
GRAD RACE DIVIDE GETTING WORSE
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amBlack and Hispanic teenagers in New York state graduate from high school at roughly half the rate of white students - nearly the largest disparity in the nation, a new...
SLAY COP FLAYED - PROSECUTOR RIDICULES TALE OF ZONGO DEATH
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amA cop's version of how and why he shot an unarmed West African dead in a Chelsea warehouse nearly two years ago just doesn't add up, a prosecutor told jurors...
GWYN SALES AWAY - $7.85M PRICE TAG ON VILLAGE HOME
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amOscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow has put her West Village town house on the market for $7.85 million, sources told The Post yesterday. Paltrow, 32, who spends most of her time...
WEST SIDE APARTMENTS IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amIt's not just getting more expensive for a Manhattan apartment, it's getting even harder to find one for sale - especially on the city's West Side. The latest survey shows...
SOBS FOR GRID KID - PROTECTED PAL CRIES FOR SLAIN HS HERO
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amThe teenager a Bronx high school football standout may have been protecting when he was fatally shot last week collapsed at his friend's wake yesterday. The slight 16-year-old arrived at...
TEEN DIES FLEEING COPS - PAL CRITICAL AFTER HORROR SMASH
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amA Queens teenager was killed and his friend was critically injured after they crashed a stolen car into an Ozone Park warehouse while fleeing from police, authorities said. The fiery...
KILLER TAUNTS DA, VICTIM'S KIN
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amA man convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend in front of their two children spewed curses yesterday in a Brooklyn courtroom after he was sentenced. "You're a son of a b...
KOBE FOR JACKO - SINGER PLANS TO PUT HOOPSTER ON STAND
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amHoops star turned accused rapist Kobe Bryant is set to be hauled before a jury in Michael Jackson's upcoming kiddie-sex trial - as a defense witness - Jacko's lawyer revealed...
GOLD-MEDAL BID - CITY WILL WINE AND DINE OLYMPIC BIGS
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amNew York will pull out all the stops next week and spend millions to convince the International Olympic Committee that the city should host the 2012 Summer Games, officials said...
VIDEO KISSES FROM IRAQ
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amKatie Remulla's sweetheart is in Iraq, where he gazes at her picture every night and morning. But yesterday, her Marine got to tell her, virtually face to face, how much...
SENATE DOUBTS KOFI SON'S SLIPPERY TALE
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - A blistering Senate report yesterday raised new questions about the son of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's connections to the Iraq oil-for-food scandal and accused him of dodging questions...
PLEA DEAL IN MOB'S SEX SCAM
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amA Gambino captain, soldier and four associates copped 11th-hour pleas yesterday in Brooklyn federal court, admitting they ripped off phone and Internet sex customers to the tune of half a...
UNION'S EX-BOSS INDICTED - CONDO-SCAM RAP
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amA former showbiz-union boss was indicted on fraud charges yesterday for allegedly trying to sell posh real estate bought with his members' dues to his brother and his brother's girlfriend...
MALL MAN 'A WACKO' - COLUMBINE 'OBSESSION'
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amThe man who sprayed an upstate shopping mall with 60 rounds from an assault rifle is a shy, pudgy loner who has a "lurid fascination" with the Columbine HS shooting,...
'I KILLED MY DAUGHTER,' MOM HEARS SELF SAY
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amA woman accused of drowning her autistic daughter in a bathtub was forced yesterday to listen to her chilling 911 call in which she calmly admitted, "I killed my daughter."...
IPOD-DY POOPERS NIX BID TO FOIL HS CROOKS
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amThe Police Department yesterday put the kibosh on an initiative to combat soaring larcenies and iPod muggings at city schools after learning the Department of Education bans the music players...
FDNY RACE PROBE - FEDS CHECK HIRING 'BIAS'; JUSTICE DEPT. PROBING FDNY FOR 'BIASED' HIRING POLICY
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amThe Justice Department has launched an investigation into the FDNY for not hiring enough blacks and Hispanics, officials said last night. The overwhelmingly white FDNY has long been dogged by...
STATE STUCK WITH $23B CITY EDUCATION PAYOUT
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amA state judge yesterday ruled that Albany lawmakers must come up with a plan to send $23.3 billion to city schools over the next five years and an additional $5.6...
MELISSA'S BALD STATEMENT - CANCER SINGER HAILED
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amThroaty songbird Melissa Etheridge's bold, baldheaded Grammy appearance evoked tears and tributes from scores of cancer survivors yesterday. The defiant crooner - known as much for her openly lesbian lifestyle...
'MENAGERIE MADAM' IN KID-HOOKER SHOCKER: DA
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amThe "Menagerie Madam" - a Long Island animal-rescue nut accused of running a $30 million chain of Midtown brothels - was kind to beasts but unimaginably cruel to kids, officials...
NEWLYWEDS HIGH ON LOVE
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amSeven couples were on cloud nine - or, more accurately, above it - as they tied the knot on the Empire State Building's observation deck yesterday. "It's our first time...
MALL MAN A LONER - COLUMBINE 'OBSESSION'
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amThe man who sprayed an upstate shopping mall with 60 rounds from an assault rifle is a shy, pudgy loner who has a "lurid fascination" with the Columbine HS shooting,...
DEAL FOR MINORITY STADIUM JOBS
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amMore than a dozen black and Hispanic leaders endorsed the West Side football stadium yesterday amid a "historic" deal with the Jets to ensure that minority- and women-owned firms get...
$20M IN 9/11 GRANTS AWARDED
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amMore than 60 nonprofit groups in seven states will share $20 million in grants from the American Red Cross' September 11 Recovery Program, the humanitarian agency announced yesterday. "These grants...
GRADUATE RACE-DIVIDE GETTING WORSE
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amBlack and Hispanic teenagers in New York state graduate from high school at roughly half the rate of white students - nearly the largest disparity in the nation, a new...
IPODDY-POOPER THUGS ATTACKING SCHOOLKIDS
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amCity students have become victims of a rash of vicious iPod muggings and a spike in larcenies at schools. One South Brooklyn transit officer, who asked not to be identified,...
NICOLE KID GUILTY - MUGGER, 15, ADMITS ATTACK
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amA 15-year-old boy linked to the suspected killers of actress Nicole duFresne pleaded guilty to assault yesterday in a separate robbery that occurred the same ill-fated night. The teen, identified...
'NICOLE CASE' PLEA - SUSPECTS' PAL GUILTY IN SLAY-NIGHT MUG
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amA 15-year-old boy linked to the suspected killers of actress Nicole duFresne pleaded guilty to assault yesterday in a separate robbery that occurred on the same ill-fated night. The teen,...
STUDIOS SUE WEB 'PIRATE'
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amA coalition of movie studios has sued the operators of a Web site they claim sold pirated copies of popular films and TV shows, according to court papers made public...
HERO MOM SAVES KIDS FROM BUS INFERNO
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amAn alert Bronx mother, who saw heavy smoke coming out of a school bus, quickly alerted the driver yesterday morning and helped evacuate a group of pre-schoolers just minutes before...
FROM THE MOTHERLAND TO WORLD
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amWorld history has been shaped by the travels of African-Americans. Here's a brief look at these tragic and triumphant journeys, as featured in the new book "In Motion: The African-American...
GEM-KILL GAL PAL A 'VICTIM' - LAWYER BARES DEFENSE
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amThe 23-year-old girlfriend of accused jeweler-slayer Christopher DiMeo "is a victim" who was forced to do heroin and participate in the crime spree that left three dead, her lawyer said...
ON THE BRINK - TOMORROW IS D-DAY FOR SEASON
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amDesperate hopes were raised, dashed, resurrected and strung out again. They might go that gamut again today, and right until Gary Bettman cancels the NHL season tomorrow. It may be...
DOUGLASS STAR HITS BOOKS BEFORE FLOOR
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amSteve McKoy doesn't rush to basketball practice after classes end at 2:30. Instead, the Frederick Douglass Academy senior heads to a study session that lasts upwards of two hours every...
GOOD 'SIGN' AMID LOSING
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amRichard Epstein sat in the stands earlier this season, scouting two opponents that his Eleanor Roosevelt team would have to play later in the year. He wasn't sure what to...
PAVANO PUMPED IN HIS PINSTRIPES
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amTAMPA - Carl Pavano's first spring training day as a Yankee included a bullpen session and a barrage of steroid-related questions. The pitching part is nothing new for Pavano. Media...
WRIGHT ALREADY AT WORK
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amPORT ST. LUCIE - The Mets' 2004 season ended Oct. 3. David Wright was in the weight room Oct. 4. The Mets' position players have to report to 2005 spring...
COUGHLIN NIXES BACK-TO-BACK COAST GAMES
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amIt comes as no great surprise that, given the choice between a week-long, all-expense paid trip to the West Coast or business as usual, Tom Coughlin opted for the daily...
LITNER GETS METS TV POST
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amThe Mets yesterday named Jon Litner the president of their new regional sports network, which is set to debut prior to the 2006 season. Litner had been the chief operating...
ON THE BRINK - SEASON MAY END TOMORROW
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amThe NHL's 154-day journey to oblivion will conclude tomorrow right where it began, at the Westin New York at Times Square, when Gary Bettman becomes the first major league leader...
BOMBERS LOOK TO RE-SIGN GODZILLA
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amYANKEE NOTES TAMPA - At some point this spring training, Yankees GM Brian Cashman will approach Hideki Matsui's agent about a contract extension. "We would like to keep him," Cashman...
STEPH FLIPPING - MARBURY FAN OF SACKED SAUNDERS
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amPHILADELPHIA - Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury couldn't help himself. True, Marbury would not address the issue on whether he'd like to see his former Minnesota coach Flip Saunders run...
MCEWING SAYS MCGWIRE'S CLEAN
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amMET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - Count Joe McEwing, who played with Mark McGwire for a little over a year in St. Louis, as yet another person to rave about...
NETS PULL OFF DEAL FOR CLIFF
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amThe Nets' month-long pursuit for a big man is over, with the club finally waiting out Golden State for Clifford Robinson. For the bargain-basement price of two second-round picks, the...
ISIAH'SNOT LIKELY TO TRADE
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES PHILADELPHIA - When Isiah Thomas talks about restocking the Knicks, he points to making trades this summer, not the Feb. 24 trade deadline. Part of it is he...
CLIFF DEAL BIG BOOST FOR NETS
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amThe Nets' month-long pursuit of Clifford Robinson is finally over, with the club acquiring the 6-10 center from Golden State yesterday for two second-round picks and half of their trade...
MARBURY IN FLIP'S CORNER
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES PHILADELPHIA - Stephon Marbury couldn't help himself. He would not directly say he'd like to see Flip Saunders, his former Minnesota coach, run the Knicks bench next season,...
PLAYERS TO CAVE? WANNA BETTMAN?
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amGARY Bettman's favorite saying in exhorting the Board to remain united in its quest to score a humbling knockout of Bob Goodenow and the NHLPA is actually pretty humorous, when...
NAZ-TY DEFEAT - MISS AT BUZZER DOOMS KNICKS
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amSixers 106 - Knicks 105 PHILADELPHIA - There was no basketball angel this time to direct Nazr Mohammed's desperation flip in the lane at the buzzer, no angel to help...
EPPERSON EXITS ST. JOHN'S
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amJunior college transfer Rodney Epperson withdrew from St. John's yesterday, ending a seven-game career in which he averaged 14.1 points. Epperson, a Brooklyn native, played at Barton Community College in...
TURMOIL WON'T ROCK BOAT
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amTAMPA - On a sun-splashed green field of championship dreams, their refuge from the stench of steroid scandal, Neil Allen pitched, and Derek Jeter, Tino Martinez and Jorge Posada hit,...
HE'S ALL TALK - LOYAL YANKEES LASH INTO CANSECO, DEFEND GIAMBI
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amTAMPA - To the Yankees, Jason Giambi made a mistake by using steroids but he will be welcomed with hugs because he is a teammate. As for the Bombers' opinions...
ON THE BRINK - AX TO FALL ON SEASON TOMORROW
February 15, 2005 | 5:00amThe NHL's 154-day journey to oblivion will conclude tomorrow right where it began, at the Westin New York at Times Square, when Gary Bettman becomes the first major league leader...