September 15, 2005

PRICE QUOTES NOT IN FASHION

BRAS and prices. Those are the two things you won't see at the fashion shows clogging up New York this week. The absence of the first, of course, is easily...

ST. PAUL LOOKS AT MIDTOWN

In what could become a blow to a downtown recovery, one of the area's major tenants is trying to consolidate its six New York City offices in Midtown. St. Paul...

AOL'S TIME IS UP - TW IN SECRET TALKS TO COMBINE UNIT WITH MSN

In a deal that would unite two of America's corporate giants as partners in the Internet business, Time Warner is in advanced discussions to sell a stake in America Online...

NAKED SHORTS SCARE - RUMORS STIR PLAYERS

Traders in Nasdaq stocks are racing to beat a rumored regulatory deadline to close out their positions - or take huge losses as clearing firms do it for them. Stock...

JOURNAL GIRDS FOR SATURDAY - AD EXECS TO WAIT AND SEE

The Wall Street Journal took three years to develop its new Saturday paper, dubbed the Weekend Edition. So it should come as little surprise that advertisers are in no rush,...

DELTA, NORTHWEST LAND IN BANKRUPTCY

After failing to meet staggering bills, two major airlines - Delta Air Lines and Northwestern Airlines - parked in bankruptcy court yesterday to escape worsening economic turbulence. The troubled carriers...

BED, BATH MAY BUY LINENS & THINGS - NO SHEET!

Bed, Bath & Beyond is considering an acquisition of rival Linens 'N Things, which has recently hired an investment bank to advise it on a possible sale of the company,...

SMALL BIZ SPENDING UP, SHOWS OPTIMISM

New York's small businesses were expected to have a great year - at least before Hurricane Katrina, which caused fuel prices to spike. According to a survey held by the...

LUXE LIFE: SMALL BUSINESSES REACH FOR HIGH STYLE - SITTING IN THE LAP OF LUXURY - HIGH-END ENTREPRENEURS HIT SWEET SPOT OF BUSINESS

TRENDS Preston Bailey is sitting in the lap of luxury. His floral design/ event-planning business, which boasts first-name-only clients such as Oprah, is blossoming after the slowdown that followed 9/11....

SITTING IN THE LAP OF LUXURY - RETAILERS MUST WALK A LINE BETWEEN FRIENDS AND FAUX

At some point in time, any of the 400 new fashion retailers in New York City that have opened in the past four months must make a decision: Follow the...

JUDGE DEALS TRUMP LOSS

Donald Trump may have to switch to Plan B in his fight to block others from cashing out on the posh Trump Place condo complex he built on the West...

NAKED SHORTS SCARE

Traders in Nasdaq stocks have been racing to beat a rumored regulatory deadline to close out their positions - or take huge losses as clearing firms do it for them....

PLAGIARISM ON WALL ST.

Plagiarism can now be added to the litany of reputational woes plaguing Wall Street's research analysts. Jefferies & Company announced yesterday that it had dismissed a research associate for plagiarizing...

LINENS ON THE BLOCK - NO SHEET!

Bed, Bath & Beyond is considering an acquisition of rival Linens 'N Things, which has recently hired an investment bank to advise it on a possible sale of the company,...

GUYS GETTING BAGGY - REAL MEN HAVE THEIR OWN ACCESSORY - THE TOTE

Never mind the man bag. This is the season of the man tote. From retail stores to fashion runways, designers are increasingly showcasing this roomy carryall for men, causing some...

THE INSCRUTABLE ECONOMICS OF FASHION

BRAS and prices. Those are the two things you won't see at the fashion shows clogging up New York this week. The absence of the first, of course, is easily...

SQUEALS OF DELIGHT FOR 'PIGGIE'

PIGGIE [***] (Three stars)SET in upstate New York, "Piggie" features powerful performances by Savannah Haske (who co-wrote) as Fanny, a childlike misfit whose best friend is a pig, and Dean...

'FOOD' A RECIPE FOR RUIN

DROP that ear of corn - it might be genetically engineered. Deborah Koons Garcia's enlightening documentary "The Future of Food" takes dead aim at genetically altered food, arguing that grocery...

A CHEMICAL REACTION - BROTHERS TO PLUG IN OUTDOORS

IN New York, the Chemical Brothers are best known for igniting dance floors at the city's hottest night clubs, so it comes as a bit of a surprise that they'll...

SPIKE STAKING CLAIM TO MOVIE

'BUFFY" creator Joss Whedon says he is bringing back the character of Spike - the bleach-blond vampire who fell for the Slayer - for a TV movie. "I haven't left...

MARTHA HEATS UP

MARTHA Stewart recovered from her first-day ratings stumble and, in her second day, beat "The View" here. New York numbers indicate that Martha's new daytime show is building audience quickly....

TEEN ANGEL - TYRA'S NEW TALK SHOW NOT FOR EVERYBODY

'THERE IS A NEW GENERATION OF VIEWERS AT HOME NOW' TYRA Banks is using her new talk show to reach young women - an audience largely ignored in daytime since...

1,000 CMJ BANDS ARE 'COMING ON STRONG'

WITH 65 venues and 1,000 bands, the 25th annual CMJ Music Marathon is enough to exhaust even the most devoted hipster. Want to save your Converse? Check out these five...

TV SCHEDULE CHANGES

THE networks are re-jiggering their prime-time schedules tonight to accommodate President Bush's national address from Louisiana at 9 p.m. CBS The season premiere of "Survivor: Guatemala" on CBS will air...

STARR REPORT

'House' rules at 9 Fox's "House" picked up right where it left off last season, scoring solid ratings in its second-season debut Tuesday. The Hugh Laurie hospital drama, featuring guest...

GIRLS GONE WHEEL'D - BRUISING IT UP WITH THE BABES OF ROLLER DERBY

SUZY Hotrod, the much-tattooed jammer for the Gotham Girls, is sprawled across her tall, blond, Dairyland Dolls counterpart, Jewels of Denile - casually punching her in the face. Luckily, the...

'CASH' IN THESE PICKS AS (EARLY) OSCAR FAVES

IT'S a lovefest at this year's Toronto Film Festival, which has become the unofficial starting post for the Oscar race. Handicappers are already putting their money on Philip Seymour Hoffman,...

L.I. DEATH DRIVER GOES OFF FERRY

A motorist led cops on a 20-mile high-speed chase on Long Island's East End - then roared onto a ferry and drove off the other end of the boat into...

PAY-TO-SPAY PET PROJECT

The city has run out of cash to spay and neuter poor people's pets, so officials are asking businesses to adopt their "Big Fix" program. For $12,000 a month, corporations...

TWO BRAVEST PERISHED IN ERROR 'STORM'

Failure to inspect a kinked fire hose led to "a perfect storm" of horrific errors that forced six firefighters to jump from a blazing Bronx building, killing two of them,...

KILLED FOR HIS HOUSE - L.I. 'SEX DEN' SHOCKER

A 20-year-old orphan who was living alone in his dead mom's Long Island home was murdered by his two best friends - because they wanted to use the house as...

VASEAN'S KILLER DODGES REHAB

The drunken driver who killed 11-year-old Vasean Alleyne last fall was back in Queens court yesterday, obtaining a judge's order that gets him out of a yearlong inpatient alcoholism-treatment program...

COPS: INFANT SURVIVES TOSS BY N.J. MOM

A New Jersey teen threw her newborn son down an apartment-building airshaft minutes after giving birth - and he miraculously survived the three-story plunge, police said yesterday. And, in a...

BILL GATHERS LEADERS TO SOLVE WORLD WOES

Former President Bill Clinton today kicks off his ambitious global-initiative forum, which gathers 39 heads of state, 300 CEOs and numerous scholars under one roof in the Big Apple. For...

KORS COMES ON STRONGER - LARGE RUSTIC COLLECTION FOR NIGHT AND DAY

MICHAEL KORS made his rivals see green yesterday - and not just because he landed superstars Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas for his front row. Unlike most designers - who...

ARMY DUO TO 'DRUGGIE': LIE

A pair of Army recruiters in The Bronx told an undercover reporter - who pretended to smoke pot and take antidepressants - how to qualify for enlistment, according to a...

L.I. TEACH'S HIT-RUN 'COVER-UP'

A Long Island high school teacher accused of racing home to clean off his car minutes after running down and killing a day laborer was held yesterday in lieu of...

PANEL TOLD OF DANGER IN CAPPING STATE GAS TAX

ALBANY - With the state Senate preparing to pass legislation next week capping the sales tax on gasoline, an influential assemblyman yesterday warned about "knee-jerk" responses to skyrocketing gas prices....

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

THE BRONX * Police yesterday said two brothers gunned down a Bronx man during a dispute last month on Valentine Avenue. Davel Ramos (above left), 27 and Anthony Ramos (above...

'GOD SAVED' FIERY BRIDGE JUMPER: KIN

Escolastico Arzu got an early birthday present from God, his daughter said yesterday. Her dad is the construction worker who survived a desperate leap from the Tappan Zee Bridge on...

'CANE-DEATHS PROBE VOWED

Louisiana's attorney general vowed yesterday to investigate every Hurricane Katrina-related death at every hospital and nursing home, in the aftermath of the first homicide charges laid in the catastrophe. Charles...

CROOKED POL SUES 'CROOKEDER' PATAKI

ALBANY - The disgraced father-in-law of one of Gov. Pataki's top political advisers filed a bombshell federal lawsuit yesterday, accusing Pataki and two key aides of attempted bid-rigging, cronyism and...

CHANCE TO SAY: 'I AM IN CHARGE'

TONIGHT'S primetime speech is President Bush's chance to reassure Americans that he's in charge after Hurricane Katrina, offering both hope and pride. "We need to know how bad it is...

KIDS BEING DENIED SCHOOL TRANSFERS, SUIT SAYS

Children stuck in failing city public schools are illegally being denied the right to swiftly transfer to a better school, according to a class-action lawsuit filed yesterday against the city...

MORGY'S ON FAST 'FORWARD'

Even with 86 years under his belt, 30 as Manhattan district attorney, Robert Morgenthau said he isn't looking back. Not on his life, not on his career and certainly not...

SLAIN TEEN'S BRAVE MOM - NEGLECTS CANCER TO BE IN COURT

THE sad, wounded mother walked gently into the terrible courtroom, ready, but not eager, to bear witness. Two years ago, Nancy Fisher's youngest boy, Mark, was a tall, athletic college...

BALL IN SHEL'S COURT - MTA OKS NETS DEAL

The politician who killed the Jets' dream of a West Side stadium said yesterday he hasn't made up his mind about the Nets' planned arena in Brooklyn, hours after that...

BUSH PUSHES U.N. - TOUTS REFORM IN TALK TO LEADERS

President Bush yesterday told the scandal-scarred United Nations to clean up its act and get rid of corruption so it lives "by the high standards it sets for others," as...

STRONGEST SAVE GIRL IN B'KLYN FIRE

Two of New York's Strongest took up the role of the Bravest yesterday when they helped save a 4-year-old girl from a burning building in Brooklyn. Department of Sanitation workers...

NAOMI'S A HISSY MISS FIT

NAOMI CAMPBELL refused to walk in jeweler Chris Aire's show when she realized rival model May Andersen would be wearing the centerpiece - a $41 million diamond dress. Organizers decided...

A PEEK INSIDE EVIL DUNGEON - PARENTS FROM HELL PAINTED THE KIDS' CAGES IN BRIGHT, CHILD-FRIENDLY COLORS

NORWALK, Ohio - These mini wooden torture chambers (facing page) were a sadistic couple's idea of bunk beds for their adopted children - oversized chicken coops splashed in "Romper Room"...

MOM LASHES OUT AT RYE PLAYLAND

The devastated mom of a 7-year-old boy who was killed when he got out of a boat ride at Rye Playland broke down and sobbed yesterday as she blamed the...

'THIS IS THE GUY I SHOT' - GRID KILLER BOAST: DA

The man accused of slaying Connecticut college-football player Mark Fisher admitted the deadly deed to his girlfriend after seeing a story in The Post, prosecutors said yesterday during opening statements...

NYPD'S HI-TECH NEW 'COP-CAST'

Meet the new, funky NYPD - now available on your MP3 player. The Police Department yesterday introduced a new podcast featuring traffic reports, public-service announcements and features on its work....

'STORM' OF MISTAKES - FIRE PROBE BARES FATAL BLUNDERS

Failure to inspect a kinked fire hose led to "a perfect storm" of horrific errors that forced six firefighters to jump from a blazing Bronx building, killing two of them,...

BRUTAL BOY THUG GETS 5-10 YRS.

It was probably only a matter of time until Nathan Washington exploded, but that can't excuse the 14-year-old boy's shocking attacks on three Upper East Side women, a Manhattan judge...

'DRUNK BOATING' FRACAS - FISTS FLY AS SUSPECT IS FREED

Mayhem broke out in a Long Island courthouse yesterday after drunken-boating charges against an air-traffic controller were thrown out - and his lawyer and pals started throwing punches at reporters...

TURNOUT IS LOW BLOW FOR DEMS

The very low turnout in Tuesday's primary election showed that many voters might not be ready for a change and that the city's Democratic Party leaders haven't been able to...

'MAYBE IT'S BETTER I DON'T TRAVEL TO AMERICA'

See ya later, Gladiator? Bad-boy actor Russell Crowe says he's considering hanging up on his career in the United States. "Maybe it's better I don't travel to America. Maybe it's...

DRUNKEN 'RAPE' - WAITRESS TO TESTIFY VS. BOOZY 'BEASTS'

The tequila shots kept coming. And the $100 tips. But by 2 a.m. on that wild, mid-summer night, a 23-year-old cocktail waitress at a trendy Bowery bar would be vomiting...

WEINER ROLLS OVER - & COULD COST CITY $12 MILLION

Anthony Weiner's startling decision to withdraw from the Democratic mayoral race yesterday - before all the votes are even counted - could cost taxpayers as much as $12 million for...

KING TO BRING N.Y. HEFT TO NEW HOMELAND POST

WASHINGTON - Long Island Rep. Peter King has been tapped to lead the House Homeland Security Committee, giving him a powerful role in GOP leadership ranks - and the chance...

RANDI: MIKE'S MIA ON STATE'S CONTRACT IDEA

Teachers-union head Randi Weingarten criticized Mayor Bloomberg yesterday for not taking advantage of a state labor panel report to settle their ongoing contract dispute. Randi Weingarten said she hasn't heard...

COP SHOOTS ENRAGED 'AX MAN'

A cop shot an ax-wielding man last night - after the man tried to break down the door of the Brooklyn apartment where he'd just been thrown out, police and...

SANIT DUO SAVE FIRE GIRL - HAUL OF AN EFFORT IN B'KLYN

Two of New York's Strongest took up the role of the Bravest yesterday, by saving a 4-year-old girl from a burning Brooklyn building. Sanitation workers Michael Kalinowski and Damon Allen...

COPS: BABY SURVIVES MA'S TOSS

A New Jersey teen threw her newborn son down an apartment-building airshaft minutes after giving birth - and he miraculously survived the three-story plunge, police said yesterday. And, in a...

IT'S KORS FOR CELEBRATION - HE SHOWS THAT NIGHT AND DAY, HE IS THE ONE

MICHAEL KORS made his rivals see green yesterday - and not just because he landed superstars Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas for his front row. Unlike most designers - who...

BRUTAL BOY THUG GETS 5-10 YEARS

It was probably only a matter of time until Nathan Washington exploded, but that can't excuse the 14-year-old boy's shocking attacks on three Upper East Side women, a Manhattan judge...

'STORM' OF ERRORS KILLED 2 BRAVEST

Failure to inspect a kinked fire hose led to "a perfect storm" of horrific errors that forced six firefighters to jump from a blazing Bronx building, killing two of them,...

BLAKE BLASTED JUST-SLAIN WIFE

BURBANK, Calif. - Only hours after his wife was slain, Robert Blake told cops she was a sleazy con artist, according to chilling police recordings played yesterday at the actor's...

COP SHOOTS MAN WHO AXED FOR IT

A cop shot an ax-wielding Brooklyn man last night after he brazenly told officers: "You're going to have to shoot me," police said. The violence started when Alfonso Wilson, 21,...

SCHOOLKIDS DENIED QUICK TRANSFERS: SUIT

Children stuck in failing public schools are illegally being denied the right to swiftly transfer to a better school, according to a class-action lawsuit filed yesterday against the city Department...

HI-TECH NYPD JOINS POD PEOPLE

Meet the new, funky NYPD - now available on your MP3 player. The Police Department yesterday introduced a podcast featuring traffic reports, public-service announcements and features on its work. The...

KUNG FU STAR IN BROTHEL BUST

Long Island cops say they've busted a crouching tiger in his hidden brothel. Martial-arts expert and actor Gao Xian, 47, who trained the stars of the hit film "Crouching Tiger,...

CLASSROOM EXTRA - HISPANIC HERITAGE EDITION - CELEBRATE HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

Classroom Extra celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with a look at the history and culture New York's Hispanic community. Hispanic Heritage Month begins today and continues through Oct. 15. Sept. 15...

METS CAN'T STOP SLIDE

NATIONALS 6 - METS 3 In a show of solidarity last night, the Mets pulled their uniform pants to their knees in unison. They've yet to pull themselves up by...

ANOTHER BELTRAN BLUNDER

In many ways, last night typified the season for both Carlos Beltran and the Mets. He flashed his tantalizing talents with a three-hit night in the middle of a red-hot...

SECOND THOUGHTS ABOUT HERNANDEZ

MET NOTES Although he was in New York this week, Anderson Hernandez apparently won't get a September call-up, Willie Randolph said yesterday. Hernandez, a second baseman whose season just ended...

RANGERS AVOID ROOKIE MISTAKES

It's known as "Manny Malhotra Syndrome," named after the Rangers' seventh-overall selection in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft who remained on the roster as a teenager long after it became...

YASHIN'S A TOP PICK TO WEAR 'C'

YARMOUTH, Nova Scotia - Alexei Yashin was the captain for about two minutes yesterday. However, there was no letter stitched to his shirt as No. 79 piloted a 60,000-ton, high-speed...

'COURT' FINDS WINNER'S CIRCLE

Long time between drinks for 4-year-old Ruler's Court, last seen in U.S. winning Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita by 14 lengths as 2-year-old in Oct. 2003. Godolphin Stable colt then...

TERRIERS AIME FOR END ZONE

H.S. NOTES On the eve of his senior season opener against Holy Cross last week, St. Francis Prep RB Jeffrey Aime went to St. John's University with his quarterback, Mike...

DEVS JUMP IN ON SHOOTOUTS

It was the first official practice of Larry Robinson's reunion with the vets. Amid the welcomes and the scrimmage yesterday, the Devils started work on the shootout. "You have to...

SEO FAR, STILL SEO GOOD

Jae Seo takes the mound today for the Mets against Washington, with Steve Trachsel starting against Atlanta on Saturday, Aaron Heilman in the bullpen, and banished Victor Zambrano in reserve....

ANDERSON WON'T GET LATE CALL-UP

MET NOTES Although Anderson Hernandez was in New York this week, he apparently won't get a September callup to the Mets, Willie Randolph said yesterday. Hernandez, a minor-league second baseman...

WRIGHT EYES 100 RBIS

David Wright's Mets teammates want him to reach 100 RBIs as much as he does - maybe more. "If it doesn't happen, it's not the end of the world," Wright...

ARTEST ACHING TO RETURN

You want to know how badly Ron Artest has missed the NBA, how he has spent his days away from the game he loves, the game that got him off...

JETS TACKLE RELIEF EFFORT

JET NOTES The four Jets who spent Tuesday visiting with evacuees from Hurricane Katrina displaced in Baton Rouge, La., came home moved by what they saw and happy they took...

MLB, ESPN INK NEW 8-YEAR DEAL

ESPN will continue to be Major League Baseball's primary cable network after the parties agreed to an eight-year contract, it was announced yesterday. While the financial package was not disclosed,...

FINDING A WAY VS. TAMPA BAY - YANKS KEEP PACE AS 'PEN PRESERVES WIN

Yankees 6 - Devil Rays 5 ST. PETERSBURG - It didn't gain them ground in the two races they are running in, but that didn't dilute the hard-fought victory the...

GARY'S SLOW COMING BACK

ST. PETERSBURG - Gary Sheffield, even slower on the bases these days than George Steinbrenner is to remember Joe Torre won four World Series, is perfectly content to drop from...

GANG GREEN FEELING 'BLUE'

Practice ended some 25 minutes later than usual yesterday and, as the Jets players filed into the locker room afterward, it was clear there was something different about yesterday's session....

NO NEW DEAL FOR CASHMAN YET

YANKEE NOTES ST. PETERSBURG - At 4 p.m. Tuesday, George Steinbrenner called Brian Cashman in The Bronx from Tampa and informed his GM to join the Yankees for last night's...

G-WIZ! JASON STILL ON TEAR - GIAMBI'S SUMMER SIZZLE HASN'T COOLED

ST. PETERSBURG - At this time last year the Yankees wondered if they would ever see a productive Jason Giambi again and owner George Steinbrenner was wondering if the $120...

UN-'EASY' FEELING - SAINTS WELL AWARE HOME OPENER'S IN ENEMY TERRITORY

The best way to ride out the storm, the Saints figure, is to go out and win football games to provide a measure of distraction and happiness to anyone still...

PIGSKIN PROFIT - LENN ROBBINS PICKS THIS WEEK'S GAMES

MICHIGAN ST. at NOTRE DAME 3:30 - Ch. 4 Line: Notre Dame -6 1/2. Angle: What is this, Rudy II? The kid who wasn't good enough to make the football...

KLITSCHKO NEEDS 'W' VS. PETER

Sam Peter's nickname is the Nigerian Nightmare, but to Wladimir Klitschko he is a dream come true. Klitschko, along with trainer Emanuel Steward, believe defeating Peter is the perfect springboard...

SHEFFIELD SLOW COMING BACK

ST. PETERSBURG - Gary Sheffield, even slower on the bases these days than George Steinbrenner is to remember Joe Torre won four World Series, says it makes sense for him...

GARY GRINDS THROUGH THE PAIN

ST. PETERSBURG - "Pick me out a good one, Bobby," says Gary Sheffield. OK, the batboy's name here isn't Bobby, but we don't need Curt Schilling's bloody sock, or Roy...

SHOCKEY AMONG 6 'QUESTIONABLES'

It is a good thing for the Giants that they have an extra day to heal for Monday night's game against the Saints, as they came out of their season-opening,...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A last letter sent home by a GI killed in action in France during World War II has finally reached his family. The letter from infantryman Clinton Krotz, postmarked March...