MANHATTAN

‘THE GATES’ DRAWS 1 MILLION VISITORS TO PARK

Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s “The Gates” may have its critics, but the city has its numbers – and, according to Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, more than 1 million people have visited the park since Saturday’s unfurling of the 23-mile, traffic cone orange exhibit.

The figure includes normal park visitation.

“We have never seen the likes of this – throngs of people in the park in the middle of February – that, in and of itself, is a beautiful sight,” Mr. Benepe said in a statement.

The Central Park Conservancy has estimated that 350,000 visitors descended upon the park on Saturday, and another 450,000 saw “The Gates” on Sunday. The typical February weekend day sees 65,000 visitors; on the busiest spring weekend day, 250,000 people make use of Central Park. A spokesman for the Department of Parks and Recreation said that summer is the busiest season, but could not provide the number of visitors the park typically receives on a peak summer weekend day. “The Gates” is on display until Sunday, February 27.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

ANTIQUES DEALER SUES PERELMAN

An antiques dealer has sued billionaire cosmetics executive Ronald Perelman, alleging that he has refused to pay more than $1 million he owes for art objects and furniture delivered to him.

Mr. Perelman has filed a counterclaim alleging fraud and deceptive trade practices and accusing the dealer, De Vos and Giraud Inc., of deliberately passing off counterfeit furniture as authentic masterpieces. De Vos, an Art Deco antiques specialist at 21 E. 67th St. in Manhattan, said in papers filed Tuesday in state Supreme Court that Mr. Perelman contracted through his decorator, Jack Anderson, to buy the items last fall. As a courtesy, the papers say, De Vos “even went so far as to give Perelman a discounted price.” The antiques included a $75,000 mahogany table discounted to $55,000, a $115,000 oak dining table for $97,000, and a $546,000 oak chest of drawers for $465,000.

– Associated Press

STATEWIDE

CELEBRITIES JOIN FRAY ON SCHOOL FUNDING

Oscar award winning actor Susan Sarandon and “Sex in the City Star” Cynthia Nixon joined parents, elected officials, and union leaders yesterday to call on Governor Pataki to abort his appeal of this week’s school-funding decision. On Monday, a Manhattan judge ruled that an additional $5.6 billion must be spent every year on city public schools and that another $9.2 billion be spent over the next five years to reduce class size and improve facilities. “The whole quality of life in this city and our future depends on a good education for everybody, not just the privileged few,” said Ms. Sarandon, a longtime political activist, during a rally held by the Alliance for Quality of Education outside City Hall.

The alliance also launched a Web site, www.ourkidscantwait.com, that its organizers hope will spur a massive letter-writing campaign to Mr. Pataki. The governor had proposed spending nearly three times less on city schools and immediately said he would appeal the latest decision. The judge’s ruling was the result of a lawsuit filed by a group called the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, which charged that city students were not getting the “sound” and “basic” education that the state’s constitution provides for. The judge did not specify how the city and state should divide the expenses. That is another point of dispute.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

BRONX

BJ’S RETAILER WITHDRAWS APPLICATION FROM COUNCIL

BJ’s Wholesale Club withdrew its proposal to build its first Bronx store before the City Council could vote on the application yesterday.

The move pre-empted an anticipated rejection, following a unanimous rejection by the zoning and franchise subcommittee last week.

“I think it was clear to us what the result was going to be today, unfortunate as that was and improper as we thought it was,” said the lawyer for Related Companies, which was to be the developer of the site, Jesse Masyr of Wachtel and Masyr. “We are still committed to the concept this use should be in the Bronx, in this area, and we want to explore what our options are.”

While traffic problems were cited as the rationale for the meeting, City Council Member Madeline Provenzano, who represents the district of the proposed BJ’s, said organized labor’s efforts to stop the non-union big-box store were the real reason for the rejection. A lobbyist with the Neighborhood Retail Alliance, Richard Lipsky, said the move was a harbinger of what is to come with Wal-Mart’s bid to buy land in Queens. “BJ’s is the poor relation to Wal-Mart,” Mr. Lipsky said. “If BJ’s is lapped around the council that strongly you can imagine how they will react to big daddy coming.”

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

CITYWIDE

COUNCIL APPROVES DEFIBRILLATOR LAW

The City Council approved a law yesterday that would require portable defibrillators to be placed in certain municipal buildings, hundreds of senior centers, and everywhere from golf courses to gyms throughout the five boroughs.

The law, which is expected to carry with it costs of about $1 million, was sponsored by Council Member James Oddo, the Republican Minority Leader. Mr. Oddo was first approached about the idea by John and Karen Acompora, whose son, Lewis, died during a lacrosse game on Long Island after blocking a shot with his chest and going into cardiac arrest.

The notebook-sized device has voice-activation that provides instruction on how to shock the heart back to normal rhythm after a cardiac arrest. The council also passed laws to create prescription drug discounts for senior citizens, to give seniors rent breaks when their landlords fail to repair housing violations, and to allow city residents to sue businesses that defraud the city and collect a percentage of the city’s winnings.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

ALBANY

DEAN CALLS FOR MINARIK’S RESIGNATION

Howard Dean, just four days into his job as Democratic National chairman, called yesterday for New York’s state Republican chairman to apologize or resign over remarks linking Democrats to a civil rights lawyer convicted of aiding terrorists.

Calling Stephen Minarik’s comments “offensive,” the former Vermont governor said, “The American people deserve better than this type of political character assassination.”

Far from apologizing, Mr. Minarik issued a statement deriding the national chairman’s comments as “the latest ‘Dean Scream.’ “

“We are confident Howard Dean will continue Terry McAuliffe’s rich tradition of raising money, losing races, and staying out of touch with mainstream Americans,” Mr. Minarik said. “It is not the Republican Party’s problem that these far left activists have made their home in the Democratic party.”

– Associated Press

GARGANO DEFENDS PATAKI’S APPEARANCE IN ADS

The state’s economic development chief defended Governor Pataki yesterday over the governor’s appearance in television commercials touting the state as a great place to do business and visit.

The Empire State Development Corp. chairman, Charles Gargano, said the Republican governor “enjoys national recognition” that is instrumental in promoting the state.

Mr. Gargano’s remarks came during an economic development hearing in response to a question by Assemblyman Joseph Morelle, a Rochester Democrat who has sponsored bills to prohibit statewide elected officials from appearing in commercials paid for with taxpayer money.

– Associated Press

POLICE BLOTTER

AUXILIARY OFFICER ACCUSED OF SEXUAL ASSAULT

Instead of leading a handcuffed perpetrator, auxiliary policeman Eric Maldonado left an East Village police precinct in handcuffs himself yesterday after he was arrested for sexually assaulting a young woman, police said.

According to police, the 26-year-old Mr. Maldonado offered several police officers and a local 13-year-old girl a ride home in his police-issued vehicle. After he dropped off the other officers, Maldonado brought the girl to a park where he tried to force her to kiss him, law enforcement sources said. Mr. Maldonado later took her to another location where he tried to remove her pants and touched her on the outside of her clothing, according to law enforcement sources.

The girl later reported the incident to her parents and then to police, but was not hospitalized or otherwise harmed, police said.

Mr. Maldonado has been suspended from his volunteer duties and has been charged with sex abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.

– Special to the Sun

Please send story tips to crimetips@nysun.com, or call 212-619-2262.