MANHATTAN

WOMAN ON BICYCLE KILLED IN LOWER EAST SIDE TRUCK COLLISION

A 21-year-old woman was fatally wounded while riding her bicycle over the weekend when a private sanitation truck accidentally crashed into her on the Lower East Side, police said. At about 11:35 p.m. on Sunday, the woman, identified as Brandie Bailey, of Brooklyn, was riding her bicycle and was struck by the truck at the intersection of East Houston Street and Avenue A. Bailey was rushed by emergency workers to Beth Israel Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead, the police said. The driver of the truck, whose name was not released, was questioned by investigators at the accident scene and was not charged with any crimes or given a summons as of yesterday, police said.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

D.A. BUYS CAMPAIGN ADS IN SPANISH-LANGUAGE NEWSPAPERS

The campaign to re-elect Robert Morgenthau is looking to attract Hispanic voters in the Manhattan district attorney’s race this week by placing some of its first political ads in Spanish-speaking newspapers.

Yesterday, the Morgenthau campaign ran two full-page advertisements in the most widely circulated Spanish newspaper, El Diario-La Prensa, and its competitor, Hoy. Both ads feature a photograph of Mr. Morgenthau surrounded by an activist group of Argentinean women who traveled to New York last spring to advocate the reform of the Rockefeller drug laws. The activist group, called Mothers of the Plaza Mayo, is known for protests of kidnappings during a military coup and are recognized by their black dresses and white bonnets.

A spokesman for Ms. Snyder, who formally announces her candidacy today, said Mr. Morgenthau’s advertisements reflected trepidation in his campaign. “The fact that Mr. Morgenthau has to advertise this early after 30 years in office says a lot about his campaign, and the traction Leslie Crocker Snyder has generated throughout Manhattan,” her spokesman, Eric Pugatch, said in a statement.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

CITYWIDE

WEINER STANDS BY HIS ‘TRASHING’ OF ALTERNATIVE WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

Democratic mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner stood by his pronouncement that a New York Press article mocking the late Pope John Paul II was “trash” yesterday, sparring with members of the Downtown Independent Democrats over First Amendment rights.

At the club’s mayoral candidates’ forum last night, Mr. Weiner was asked about statements he made when the New York Press ran a story titled “The 52 Funniest Things About the Upcoming Death of the Pope.” When the article was published in March, Mr. Weiner encouraged New Yorkers to “take as many of these rags as they can and put them in the trash.”

During the question session, one of the event’s moderators compared the congressman’s position on the Pope article unfavorably to Mayor Giuliani’s criticism of the Brooklyn Museum of Art when it exhibited an image of the Virgin Mary smeared in elephant excrement. In a feisty exchange, Mr. Weiner initially tried to dismiss the question as inappropriate, before further explaining and standing by his statements. Mr. Weiner said he was not trying to silence the publication, however, or infringe on the editors’ First Amendment rights. Rather, he was passing judgment on the story’s quality, and urging New Yorkers to treat it accordingly.

-Staff Reporter of the Sun

ALBANY

SENATE OVERRIDES PATAKI VETO ON BUDGET-CONTINGENCY BILL

The state Senate voted yesterday 47 to 12 to override Governor Pataki’s veto last week of a bill that would be used to implement a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that voters will decide on in a statewide referendum this fall.

Both legislative chambers have approved a proposed amendment that would allow for the enactment of a contingency budget if lawmakers fail to agree on a budget by a new May 1 deadline. The amendment would also invalidate budget bills proposed by the governor once the deadline is not met, effectively upsetting the executive-heavy balance of power that has existed in New York since 1927.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

NAMATH, CROSS TAKE STADIUM PITCH TO CAPITOL

The Jets brought Joe Namath, the legendary quarterback, to the state Capitol yesterday in an effort to convince lawmakers that they should act quickly on the proposed West Side stadium.

The team president, Jay Cross, introduced Mr. Namath at a press conference on the Capitol steps that was attended by 10 members of the Democratic-led Assembly, most of them from New York City. No Republicans from the Senate were present at the outdoor appearance, where Mr. Cross said he would not entertain alternative New York City sites.

The leader of the Senate, Joseph Bruno, a Republican, and Assemblyman Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, control two votes on a three-person committee that must vote on whether to approve the stadium. Governor Pataki, the third vote, has been outspoken in support of the project. A vote could come as soon as May 18.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

MEMO: WELD NOT RUNNING FOR NEW YORK GOVERNOR

The same day the former Massachusetts governor, William Weld, said he was interested in running for governor of New York, an internal memo issued to partners in his investment firm discounted any such bid.

The two-paragraph memo from Leeds Weld & Co. to its “limited partners” stated, in part: “While it has always been Bill’s practice ‘never to say never,’ Bill is not running for governor of New York or for any other office.” The memo, a copy of which was obtained by the Associated Press yesterday, said Mr. Weld “is full-time engaged in the business of Leeds Weld & Co.”

– Associated Press