CITYWIDE

D.A. WANTS TO ABOLISH STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS IN RAPE CASES

The Manhattan district attorney, Robert Morgenthau, said in a statement yesterday that New York should abolish statute of limitations laws for violent sexual assaults such as rapes. Mr. Morgenthau’s statement comes a day after prosecutors from his office linked a man, Clarence Williams, who fled New York in the 1970s with two trials pending for rape, to more than 21 violent rapes and robberies at Maryland and New Jersey.

After photographs of Mr. Williams were published in several New York newspapers, Mr. Morgenthau said another rape victim came forward, claiming Mr. Williams had raped her in 1973, the same year he was arrested and facing retrial in the rape of 25-year-old artist and actress living in Chelsea.

Using DNA evidence from 32-year-old underwear collected as evidence in that case, Mr. Morgenthau said prosecutors succeeded in connecting Mr. Williams to that crime. The statute of limitations did not apply in that case because there have been warrants out for Mr. Williams’s arrest for more than two decades.

However, under state laws, Mr. Morgenthau said his office could not indict Mr. Williams for the rape of the most recently known victim because state laws have 5- and 10-year limitation clauses. Other laws in states such as Maryland and New Jersey, where Mr. Williams can also be prosecuted, do not have time limitations. Mr. Morgenthau said state legislators should update the laws to reflect advances in forensic science.

“People’s memories may fade over time, DNA does not,” Mr. Morgenthau said.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

WEINER SEEKS CLOSURE OF PLO OFFICE AT WASHINGTON, D.C.

Rep. Anthony Weiner has a novel approach to forging peace in the Middle East – close down the PLO offices in the nation’s capital.

The Democrat who represents parts of Queens and Brooklyn yesterday offered legislation that would force the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s office on K Street at downtown Washington, D.C. The congressman argued PLO factions have a long history of supporting terrorist violence.

“Until Palestinian leadership proves willing and able to stop the violence, the PLO should not be welcome in our nation’s capital,” Mr. Weiner said in a statement.

A spokeswoman at the Palestinian mission to the United Nations did not immediately return a call for comment. Other New York lawmakers have sought in past years to close or shrink the PLO’s Washington office.

Palestinian Arab leader Mahmoud Abbas met with insurgent groups last month to negotiate terms of participating in the political process at Gaza after Israel withdraws from the area in the summer.

Mr. Weiner is one of the candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in New York’s mayoral race.

– Associated Press

MANHATTAN

ELOISE WILL HAVE HOME AT REFURBISHED PLAZA HOTEL

A deal struck earlier this month to keep the storied Plaza Hotel from converting entirely into condominiums seemed to have something for everyone – its new owners, hotel workers, fans of the historic Oak Room.

There was just one problem: No one knew what would become of Eloise, the fictional, impish 6-year-old who has tromped around the Fifth Avenue landmark since 1955. The crisis mercifully ended yesterday as the owners of the Plaza announced the renovated building – now planned as a mix of guest rooms and condos – would include a suite for the youngster.

“Our most famous resident is going to stay with us at the Plaza,” owner Miki Naftali of Elad Properties told reporters at a news conference. “Eloise will stay here.” Hotel spokesman Steven Solomon said while the management has “a particular room in mind” for Eloise, it would not disclose which is Eloise’s suite because of the number of guests that would clamor for it.

Mr. Naftali suggested the towheaded tot might even be around for the ribbon cutting when the Plaza reopens in fall 2006. It will close for its $350 million makeover Saturday afternoon, with about 300 guests checking out.

Five decades after she was invented in a book by the late Kay Thompson, Eloise has gained a new generation of young fans since a 2003 television movie, “Eloise at the Plaza.” A Broadway show is in the works for 2006.

– Associated Press

FIFTH AVENUE HAWKS UNLIKELY TO HAVE CHICK THIS YEAR

Pale Male and Lola, the red-tailed hawks who built their nest on the ledge of a Manhattan apartment building on Fifth Avenue probably will not have a chick this year, New York City Audubon officials said yesterday.

It has been 50 days since Lola began sitting on the nest overnight, a behavior that usually indicates incubating eggs. The average incubating period for a red tailed hawk is 28 to 35 days, so it is “improbable” a chick will hatch, the environmental organization said in a news release.

“All their supporters are sad today, but the Pale Male and Lola story is a story of resilience, and we look forward to a successful nest next year,” the New York City Audubon president, E.J. McAdams, said in a statement.

But Lincoln Karim, a video engineer with Associated Press Television News who devotes most of his spare time to monitoring the birds, said he disagreed with the group’s conclusion. He said Lola was still sitting on the nest last night.

In December the board of the co-op apartment building removed the nest that has been there since 1993. The board called the nest a hazard because of falling debris such as the occasional squirrel, pigeon, or rat carcass flung out by the hawks after feeding. The board later bowed to public outrage and pressure from the city and environmentalists and restored a row of anti-pigeon spikes used to anchor the nest, which Pale Male and Lola immediately rebuilt.

– Associated Press

STATE

BARGE ACCIDENT SENDS GASOLINE INTO HUDSON RIVER

NEW HAMBURG – A barge spilled some of the 75,000 gallons of unleaded gasoline it was carrying after striking a rocky area in the Hudson River yesterday. The accident happened around 3:45 p.m. near the mouth of Wappinger Creek.

At least two of the 326-foot barge’s 10 tanks ruptured, Coast Guard officials said, but it was unclear how much gasoline leaked into the river. Workers were using booms to prevent it from flowing into Wappinger Creek.

“There was a slick on the river,” New Hamburg Fire Chief Jeffrey Renihan said. “But the wind was helping us out, helping it evaporate.”

Dutchess County Sheriff Lieutenant Gary Bashor said strong winds may have contributed to the accident. The rocky area is on navigation charts.

The tugboat, from McAllister Towing and Transport, was pulling the Bouchard Transportation Co. barge on its way from New York City to Rensselaer. Some residents at New Hamburg, 75 miles south of Albany, complained that the odor from the spill burned their eyes and noses. The Coast Guard will investigate the accident to determine whether the tugboat operator should be penalized.

– Associated Press