April 6, 2005

CITY, STATE BIGS WOO GOLDMAN

City and state officials scrambled to do damage control yesterday after Goldman Sachs said it was backing away from a widely publicized plan to build a new headquarters tower in...

TRUMP REORG GETS APPROVAL

Corks were popping as Donald Trump concluded a bankruptcy makeover of his casino empire - which makes his company at least $1 billion richer. A federal judge gave final approval...

IPG FINDS $35M NOT ON BOOKS

Stumbling ad giant Interpublic, still trying to get a grip on its financial woes, said yesterday it discovered another $35 million in executive payouts and leases that weren't properly accounted...

YOU'LL BE DIGGING DEEPER TO ROOT FOR THE HOME TEAM

Going to the ballpark this year to see your favorite team play is going to cost you. The average price of a baseball ticket in 2005 increased 6.3 percent over...

NAPSTER SERVICE ADDS 143,000 SUBSCRIBERS

Napster said yesterday that it added a better-then-expected 143,000 subscribers to its service in the fourth quarter - exciting investors and pushing the stock up 9.2 percent. The company launched...

TOMMY TAKES MORE SPACE

TOMMY Hilfiger is gobbling up another 80,000 feet of the Starrett Lehigh Building, bringing its occupancy to about 300,000 square feet. A 20,000-foot portion of the 17th floor will be...

MORGAN 'EIGHT' PROPOSE NEW CEO

Morgan Stanley is now getting slammed on two battlefronts - with a new lawsuit bomb and fiercer public-relations assaults. Dissident investor Scott Sipprelle, a former Morgan Stanley managing director, said...

TABLOID'S BIG APPLE CUTS - NATIONAL ENQUIRER SLASHES STAFF AS IT RELOCATES

THE National Enquirer put out its first issue from its new base in New York City. But last week, there was a virtual bloodbath at the title as veteran journalists...

JIMMY GOES SOLO - CABLEVISION'S $16.5B ADELPHIA BID STIRS THE POT

While it recoups from its own boardroom bickering, Cablevision intends to pay $16.5 billion in cash for bankrupt Adelphia Communications cable operations. The move would double Cablevision's subscriber count and...

A WARM WELCOME: EYE-POPPING BROOKLYN HOUSE TOURS

THIS winter it may have seemed like we were living in a remake of "Wuthering Heights," but spring is finally here. That means it's time for traditional seasonal rites of...

BEAUTY SHOP - PLAY DECORATOR THIS WEEKEND, JUST $10

EVER wish you could be a decorator? Well, here's your chance to shop like one, at least. This weekend marks the first-ever Decorative Arts District "shopping weekend" - a fancy...

NEW YORK CITY'S FAB FOUR - FRESH AND NEW, THESE BUILDINGS STAND OUT

WITH the building boom in New York City, it's tough to separate what's fantastic from what's merely hot. These four buildings, all on the market this spring, are sure to...

$35M 'ADD' FIRM - INTERPUBLIC'S BOOKS ARE A MESS, STEM FROM M&A

Stumbling ad giant Interpublic, still trying to get a grip on its financial woes, said yesterday it discovered another $35 million in executive payouts and leases that weren't properly accounted...

TRUMP REORG GETS OK

Champagne corks were popping yesterday as Donald Trump finally concluded a bankruptcy makeover of his casino empire - which makes his company at least $1 billion richer. A federal judge...

'HOUSE' GUEST - 'ONCE & AGAIN' STAR CHECKS IN AS DOC'S EX

SULTRY Sela Ward is about to make a "House" call that will rock the world of cranky Dr. Greg House. Ward will guest-star on this season's final two episodes as...

SPECIAL DELIVERY

'THE Letter," the only surviving talkie starring Jeanne Eagles - a legendary Broadway actress who died of a heroin overdose in 1929, the year the film was released - will...

AMA IMPRESSED; CULINARY LOVE LETTER TO PUGLIA

AMA ½ (two and a half stars) 48 MACDOUGAL ST. (BETWEEN HOUSTON AND PRINCE) (212) 358-1707 AMA, Italian for "love," is Donatella Arpaia's love song to the Apullian cooking of...

ON THE SIDE; SHE FANCIES CASUAL EATERY

RITA Jammet is still looking for a home for her next restaurant. "We had a deal that fell apart at the zero hour," says the former owner of La Caravelle....

SANDWICHES ARE A DILLY AT THIS TASTE O' PHILLY

TONY LUKE'S ½ (two and a half stars) 576 NINTH AVE. (BETWEEN 41ST & 42ND) (212) 967-3055 DON'T expect loads of ambiance with Tony Luke's Old Philly Style Sandwiches. The...

TEMPTRESS WITH A TEAPOT; CHINA'S STAR CHEF POURS IT ON

AS feng shui goes, meeting China's brightest culinary star in a lavatory doesn't bode well. Yet that's where tea alchemist Jin R introduced her self last week at Yumcha, the...

'DEMOCRACY' COLLAPSES; LAUDED PLAY TOO 'BORING' FOR B'WAY

IT had great buzz from London. It had terrific reviews in New York. It had "snob hit" written all over it. And it had $2 million in the bank before...

STARR REPORT

Belated appreciation It's nice that the late comedian Mitch Hedberg's CDs are selling like hotcakes on amazon.com - but wouldn't it have been nicer if they sold like that while...

EXTREME MAKEOVER - FIRST-YEAR 'IDOL'S' NEW LOOK

THESE two guys may not look alike, but they are actually the same person - former "American Idol" contender Jim Verraros. Verraros, who was a top-10 finalist on the first...

TRUMP FINALE HEADS TO NYU

DONALD Trump and "The Apprentice" are headed downtown to NYU for this season's finale, according to reports. The school paper reported yesterday that NBC was in negotiations with the university...

DON'T BLINK - ROCK STARS IN SUBURBIA

IF you were counting on "Meet The Barkers" - MTV's new reality borefest about the home life of rocker Travis Barker and his wife, Shanna Moakler - to replace your...

JAIL TIME FOR INDECENCY?

A major Congressional leader now says he wants to make broadcast indecency - the smutty talk that gets Howard Stern and Opie and Anthony into trouble - a criminal offense....

EATS OF THE WEEK: THE ALAMO

After a three-year hiatus, The Alamo, once a popular destination for Margarita lovers throughout the city, reopens its doors with a new look and a more sophisticated menu. Established in...

WHO PAYS? - NEW YORK'S POST-SCHIAVO DILEMMA

TERRI Schiavo's protracted death focused attention on the right to die, but it should also spark some serious thinking about an equally vital - and emotion-laden - matter: the cost...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Let's not go to the videotape. A Denver dad is marketing a two-volume set of his serial-killer son's lurid, videotaped confessions, for $39.95 each. Randolph White, father of Richard Paul...

COUNCIL FIGHT OVER BULLY LAW

Education officials yesterday held firm under intense questioning from the City Council, insisting that a new law intended to reduce bullying in schools will not be implemented. The Department of...

CHUCK BIDS TO REOPEN PROBE OF FLT. 587 CRASH

The probe into what caused American Airlines Flight 587 to crash off the Rockaways should be reopened, after the "safety and reliability" of airplane rudders have come into question, Sen....

STOP DIGGING, FREDDY

HERE'S another practical political lesson that Freddy Ferrer seems not to have learned: If you unexpectedly find yourself in a hole, the way out is not to dig deeper. But...

WTC'S 'WHAT IF' TOLL - 14,000 IN MIDDAY ATTACK

The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center would have killed as many as 14,000 people had the Twin Towers been at full capacity, officials said yesterday. Releasing detailed results...

PELOSI BLOWS HIS PLEA DEAL

Convicted murderer Danny Pelosi's big mouth has gotten him into trouble again - this time sinking a plea bargain that would have gotten him only three years in jail, instead...

BUSH, ARIEL HEADED FOR SHOWDOWN

President Bush said yesterday he will tell Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon next week that he must abide by the "road map" peace plan, which calls for "no expansion" of...

TRIBE SEEKS ITS 'SHINN' BONES

A Long Island Indian tribe wants the giant bones of the monster whale that washed up on a Hamptons beach this week. The Shinnecock Indians hope to use the skeleton...

COUNCIL'S 'HAZARDOUS' FIGHT

A proposal for cops and firefighters to do hazardous-material training together hit a snag yesterday when Fire Commis-sioner Nicholas Scoppetta said the City Council was overstepping its authority by mandating...

BELIEVER OR NOT, WE UNITED ON THIS WEARYING JOURNEY OUT OF LOVE & VALUES

VATICAN CITY - Finally, she was home. And she showed me the way. Approaching the open door of St. Peter's Basilica, Maria Florio halted in her tracks. We'd just spent...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * Police yesterday were searching for two men who posed as security agents and tried to rob a Sheepshead Bay bank. The unidentified suspects walked into a Chase branch...

ALBANY POL PUSHES A PRO-LIFE 'TERRI'S LAW'

ALBANY - In the wake of Terri Schiavo's death, a Brooklyn assemblyman has introduced "Terri's Law" - a bill that would prohibit removing a feeding tube without the patient's written...

MEDAL OF HONOR WIDOW WILL VISIT GROUND ZERO

WASHINGTON - The widow of tragic Medal of Honor hero Sgt. Paul R. Smith will make an emotional visit to Ground Zero tomorrow to see firsthand "what her husband died...

SHOOTER CAN'T GO TO SERVICE

Edward Cardinal Egan yesterday said "it certainly would be a very beautiful symbol to the world" to allow the man who tried to kill Pope John Paul II to attend...

OPEN & SHUT FOR LOCAL SCHOOLS

Calling the Friday funeral of Pope John Paul II a "teachable moment," the Diocese of Brooklyn has decided to keep its schools open - while church officials in New York...

NO LIVING RELATIVES TO CLAIM EFFECTS

Like most priests, Pope John Paul II had little personal property - but unlike many people, he has no immediate family to inherit what few possessions he has. Vatican experts...

KID STABBED IN HS 'GANG' WAR

A 14-year-old student was stabbed with an ice pick in what fellow students called a gang-related melee yesterday morning. Kids at Sheepshead Bay HS said the school went into lockdown...

GARDEN PLANTS A WEED - SUIT MAY GROUND JETS

Madison Square Garden threw a penalty flag at the Jets and the MTA yesterday, with a lawsuit accusing the transit agency of tilting the playing field in favor of the...

HE'S FACING GRUELING CHEMO SESSIONS

Peter Jennings will immediately receive chemotherapy for his battle with lung cancer which could indicate the possibility that the ABC anchor has an aggressive type of cancer or one that...

MODEL: MY KIDNAP NIGHTMARE - TELLS JURY HER BEAU BRUTALLY BEAT HER

He held a cheese knife to her throat. He forced her to strip naked. He beat her head with a Pottery Barn candleholder. He urinated into a water bottle, then...

'GAY HS' LAWSUIT TEEN BUSTED

A transgender student from Harvey Milk HS - who once sued the city for $4 million for false arrest and got a $31,500 settlement - was busted after allegedly punching...

ROBBERY SUSPECT TAKES A HIT

Two fearless pharmacy workers saved the day when they tackled a drunken armed-robbery suspect, police said yesterday. The pair raced into action when the suspect allegedly staggered into the Rabinowitz...

NEW EMS BASE FOR BROOKLYN

Ambulance services in Brooklyn got a big boost yesterday with the opening of a stand-alone, $4.2 million EMS station on the campus of Kings County Medical Center. "Another good day...

EGAN: PRIESTS TOP PRIORITY

Edward Cardinal Egan yesterday said he wants the next pope to focus on recruiting more priests, which would help New York's Catholic school system by increasing the number of potential...

DELIVERANCE - CHINESE-FOOD GUY 'IN ELEVATOR' SINCE FRIDAY

As cops searched high and low for him, a Chinese-food deliveryman missing since Friday night says he was smack in the middle of the intensive manhunt all along - trapped...

N.Y. PILGRIMS TAKE FLIGHT FOR FAREWELL

Throngs of faithful pilgrims are flocking from New York to Rome to say their last goodbyes in person to Pope John Paul II. "I'm going because I'm a good Catholic...

$12M SLAP FOR CANCER DOC'S BOTCH

A Manhattan jury has awarded $11.8 million to the family of a woman who died after her doctor failed to diagnose her cancer condition for two years. "It was a...

CELL FINES SOAR - BLITZ HITS DRIVERS

Cops are cracking down on drivers who gab on their cellphones, The Post has learned. For the first four months of the city's current fiscal year, the NYPD wrote 39,548...

'PUSS' IN BUST - PUMMELED FIANCÉE, COPS SAY

Is the wedding still on? Fuhgeddaboudit! "Sopranos" star Vincent Pastore - who played "Big Pussy" on the HBO hit mob drama until he got rubbed out at the end of...

CARTER ODD MAN OUT ON TRIP

WASHINGTON - In a surprise move that raised eyebrows, former President Jimmy Carter yesterday said he had been passed over by President Bush for the official delegation to the pope's...

SHOWER SHOCKER - BATHING BEAUTY JACKO HAD NAKED SCRUB SESSION WITH BOY: EX-MAID

A naked and giggling Michael Jackson once shared a shower with a pint-sized pal that steamed up the bathroom windows, his former personal maid testified yesterday. "I walked [in], and...

FED PROBE OF REV. AL SLIPS OUT PHILLY-NILLY

The Rev. Al Sharpton is the subject of a federal criminal investigation unrelated to the Philadelphia corruption probe in which his name surfaced on wiretaps, according to a published report....

'DOM' DE DUM DUM - ACTING GENOVESE 'BOSS' IS ARRESTED

The reputed acting boss of the Genovese crime family - a 75-year-old whose knack for dodging arrest earned him the nickname "Quiet Dom" - ran out of luck yesterday as...

CHOW MEIN COKE RING CRUSHED

A pair of fishy food shipments seized at JFK Airport led the feds to a massive international cocaine-smuggling ring that hid drugs in crates of frozen fish and chow-mein noodles,...

JENNINGS HAS LUNG CANCER - COLLEAGUES DEVASTATED AS ABC ANCHOR BREAKS BAD NEWS TO VIEWERS ON TAPE

ABC "World News Tonight" anchor Peter Jennings is battling lung cancer, a devastating diagnosis that sent him home last night unable to broadcast, leaving his colleagues wracked in grief. The...

THE WHOLE WORLD WILL BE WATCHING

One of the biggest TV audiences ever - 2 billion people around the world - is expected to watch Pope John Paul II's funeral Friday. In New York, it will...

INN-FLAMED STAFF - ANGRY RALLY AT PLAZA

About 1,000 demonstrators rallied at The Plaza yesterday as the countdown to the historic hotel's closing at the end of the month continued. Speakers including mayoral hopeful Fernando Ferrer, Public...

MOMMY CHEERIEST - MODEL REUNITED WITH TWINS AFTER UGLY COURT FIGHT

For the rest of the country, it's still a month away, but for Bridget Marks, yesterday was Mother's Day. The beaming model was reunited with her twin daughters yesterday afternoon...

HUBBY PIMPS GUILTY

Three Mexican men confessed up yesterday to smuggling their wives and other women into the United States and forcing them to work as prostitutes in brothels in Brooklyn and Queens....

250G EARMARKED FOR CHINATOWN ARCH

The City Council is pitching in $250,000 to jump-start the construction of the first official entranceway for Chinatown - a massive arch of blue, red and yellow, officials said yesterday....

BEAR ESSENTIALS - BAYLOR DEMOLISHES SPARTANS TO CLAIM 1ST CHAMPIONSHIP

WOMEN'S FINAL: Baylor 84 - Mich. St. 62 INDIANAPOLIS - At the end of what appeared to be women college basketball's most evenly-contested season ever, Baylor wound up the best...

HEALTHY JOSE, CLIFF PROVIDE RAYS OF HOPE

MET NOTES CINCINNATI - When Jose Reyes is healthy, he can be one of the sport's most electric players. When Cliff Floyd is healthy, he can be one of the...

BELTRAN & PEDRO TWO TO BUILD ON

CINCINNATI - Here's a river of post-Opening Day Met thoughts while watching the muddy Ohio flow past Great American Ballpark yesterday: * Even though Carlos Beltran did what he did...

AMAZIN' LOSS WON'T LINGER - REVAMPED METS VOW THEY'LL BOUNCE BACK FROM OPENING DEBACLE

CINCINNATI - It's not as if the Mets haven't had demoralizing Opening Days before. Take two years ago, in fact, when they were clobbered by the Cubs, 15-2. It was...

DEREK ALWAYS WALKS THE WALK-OFF

DEREK JETER doesn't make a habit of this. It only seems that way. Jeter's specialty isn't the walk-off home run. If you want a guy who'll dive into the stands,...

NBA RICHES COULD LEAVE HEELS FLAT NEXT SEASON

ST. LOUIS - San Diego Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer once advised North Carolina coach Roy Williams to enjoy his victories until midnight then move on. Williams should make an exception...

BEARS, SPARTANS GO FROM TURMOIL TO TITLE SHOT

INDIANAPOLIS - Michigan State came from 16 points down to catch perennial power Tennessee and get to last night's women's NCAA championship game, and that was the easy part. Five...

BEAMING BOSS LIKES THE RESULTS

George Steinbrenner was walking on sunshine yesterday as he exited Yankee Stadium, riding the good vibrations of a two-game winning streak over the rival Red Sox to kick off the...

EX-MATES WOWED BY PEDRO

Most of the Red Sox questioned yesterday didn't watch Pedro Martinez's Mets debut Monday, but word gets around fast. Curt Schilling, Manny Ramirez and Jason Varitek were among Martinez's former...

FOULKE CAN'T CLOSE THE DEAL

Keith Foulke is a two-pitch pitcher who keeps it simple. So it wasn't difficult for the Boston closer to dissect yesterday's 4-3 loss to the Yankees. "One of my keys...

JETER'S HOMER SAVES YANKEES - BLAST IN NINTH RESCUES RIVERA FROM RED SOX

Yankees 4 - Red Sox 3 He has saved theirs for years. Yesterday the Yankees rescued Mariano Rivera's rear end. Thanks to Derek Jeter's leadoff homer off Keith Foulke in...

BUD: WE'RE DEALING WITH 'ROIDS

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig answered his critics yesterday, defending Major League Baseball's new steroids policy. "I know there's been a certain amount of doubt, cynicism, whatever about these programs, but...

MILLER LAST LINK TO BETTER TIMES - PACER GREAT MAKES FINAL GARDEN APPEARANCE

THERE was no video tribute on the Garden scoreboard for Reggie Miller last night. No retirement gift. Perhaps in better times, the Knicks would've acted more sentimental. But when Miller...

IT'S A GOOD START FOR PAVANO

Joe Torre said Carl Pavano reminds him of Andy Pettitte because of his walk. Yesterday, in Pavano's Yankees debut, he resembled the former All-Star with the way he pitched against...

CONGRESS EXPANDS PROBE

Congress expanded the scope of its ongoing probe into steroid use in sports, sending letters to seven sports organizations requesting information on their steroid-testing policies. U.S. Reps Tom Davis (R-Va.)...

JACK'S BACK WITH HEAVY HEART

AUGUSTA - Jack Nicklaus had no intention of playing in his 45th Masters this week at Augusta National, even before being stricken by one of the most horrific tragedies of...

TIGER WANTS HIS OLD SWAGGER BACK

AUGUSTA - There was a time, only three or so years ago, when Tiger Woods walked to the first tee of every tournament carrying the same aura of intimidation that...

ISIAH'S EURO TRIP TO HELP DRAFT PREP

KNICK NOTES With the college basketball season over, Knicks president Isiah Thomas, in full draft mode, is off to Europe next week for the second time this season, sources said....

MO MISERY VS. BOSOX

NO PLAYER embodies the mystique and aura of this Yankee generation quite like Mariano Rivera. His late-game job description and late-season dominance feed the perception. But it also is about...

JETS BRING BACK EVANS

The Jets yesterday announced the signing of several players, highlighted by popular veteran defensive tackle Josh Evans. Also re-signed were LB Kenyatta Wright, WR Jonathan Carter, G Jonathan Goodwin, TE...

MATSUI'S CLEANING UP

YANKEE NOTES Joe Torre isn't committing to using Hideki Matsui exclusively as the cleanup hitter against right-handers, but until another Yankees bat starts sizzling, expect Matsui to follow Gary Sheffield...

LEFTY LOOKS GOOD IN ARNIE'S CROWN

AUGUSTA - There will be no need for us to explain to our grandchildren the passion and the intrigue surrounding the legendary rivalry between the great Jack Nicklaus and charismatic...

NETS FACE ROAD TEST

CLEVELAND - Vince Carter couldn't get to St. Louis for a certain college basketball game Monday. So he paid tribute wearing a "Carolina Basketball" shirt during the Nets' morning workout...

KNICKS WON'T MISS RETIRING REGGIE

The respect was grudging but given, like Pedro Martinez admitting the Yankees were his daddies, or a Duke fan giving North Carolina its championship props. When Reggie Miller made his...

NETS ROCK 'N' ROLL

Nets 111 - Cavs 80 CLEVELAND - The Nets shot four free throws all game. And no one complained about refs. See, the Cleveland defenders usually weren't in the same...

ISIAH PLOTS EURO TRIP

KNICK NOTES With the college basketball season over, Isiah Thomas, in full draft mode, is off to Europe next week for the second time this season, sources said. Before heading...

REGGIE WINS IN GARDEN FINALE

Pacers 97 Knicks 79 How bad has it gotten for the Knicks? There was the home crowd vociferously booing their home team, and passionately chanting "Reggie! Reggie!" as the celebrated...

THE IMMORTALS

Who are the greatest Yankees of all-time?* As of yesterday the top five all-time* Yankees greats receiving votes on NYPOST.com are: Babe Ruth 18.5% Mickey Mantle 18.2% Lou Gehrig 17.4%...

REGGIE LEAVES KNICKS IN DUST

How bad has it gotten for the Knicks? Imagine the Garden crowd vociferously booing their home team and passionately chanting "Reg-gie! Reg-gie!" as they celebrated former Public Enemy No. 1....

CONGRESS EXPANDS ITS PROBE ON 'ROIDS

Congress expanded the scope of its ongoing probe into steroid use in sports, sending letters to seven sports leagues and organizations requesting information on their steroidtesting policies. U.S. Reps Tom...