MANHATTAN

LANDMARKS APPROVES WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK RENOVATION

The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted 7-1 to approve the planned renovation of Washington Square Park yesterday, pushing the Parks Commission over the last substantial hurdle in implementing the $16 million project. Some additional design approvals are still needed from the Arts Commission before construction can get under way, a spokesman for the Parks Commission, Warner Johnston, said. Featuring prominently on the list of approvals is a proposal for a new fence that will enclose the park, which some community residents have said will make the overall space feel less open. In response to public outcry, the commission already scrapped plans to build lockable gates at entrances to the park, Mr. Johnston said. The proposed renovation calls for a two-phased restoration of the park, which includes aligning the fountain with Washington Square Arch, relocating a dog run to the southern side, and transforming a plaza into a new grassy lawn. The commission plans to start construction of the first phase at the end of the summer or the beginning of the fall, Mr. Johnston said. The first phase would close the northwest corner of the park, including the area around the fountain, for about a year to a year and a half, he said.

– Special to the Sun

SINKHOLE CAUSES VAN CRASH IN MIDTOWN

A man driving a van in Midtown yesterday crashed when the street suddenly caved in beneath him, rupturing his front tire and sending him to the hospital, police said. The man, who was not identified, was in stable condition yesterday, police said. Authorities closed off 40th Street near Fifth Avenue for several hours to determine if the rest of the roadway was stable. The cavity, which looked like a giant pothole, was actually a sinkhole, a condition caused when water erodes soil under the pavement. Most sinkholes are the result of broken water mains, which can be either privately or city-owned, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, Ian Michaels, said.

– Special to the Sun

JUDGE: BANK COULD BE EVICTED UNDER DRUG, PROSTITUTION LAWS

Under laws used to evict drug dealers and prostitutes from apartments, Bank of America’s investment unit could be evicted from its Manhattan headquarters if one of its securities brokers is convicted on criminal charges. The broker, Theodore Sihpol, 37, is on trial in Manhattan’s State Supreme Court, accused of helping Canary Capital Partners profit by late trading of mutual funds. Canary is a family hedge fund run by Edward Stern, heir to the Hartz Mountain pet products company. Mr. Sihpol, who worked for Banc of America Securities, is charged in a 40-count indictment with grand larceny, scheme to defraud, and related offenses. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted on the top count, first-degree grand larceny. BAS, the securities and investment division of Bank of America, has occupied 640,000 square feet at 9 W. 57th St. since April 16, 1996. Mr. Sihpol’s trial is the first to result from state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s investigation of the mutual fund industry. BAS paid $675 million to settle Mr. Spitzer’s claims against it, and Mr. Stern paid $40 million to settle claims against him. Civil Court Judge Joan Kenney said “it is not a leap in logic to suggest that the crimes Sihpol is accused of, as well as BAS’ acquiescence, if any, to the alleged trading scheme, could trigger the provisions” of the eviction laws and cause BAS’ lease to be forfeited. Judge Kenney said the law, and its related statutes, have been used to evict, and to recover property and funds from, people engaged in illegally selling drugs and alcohol, prostitution, gambling, and more recently, counterfeiting of trademarked goods. The judge said the relevant part of the statute indicates a lease becomes “void” if the occupant uses the premises “for any illegal trade, manufacture, or other business.”

– Associated Press

QUEENS

POLICE OFFICER ACCUSED OF TRYING TO SOLICIT TEEN GIRLS FOR SEX

A veteran police officer was arrested yesterday and accused of soliciting sex online from people he thought were 14-year-old girls but who turned out to be undercover detectives. Michael Farrell, 34, who is married with children, was charged with attempting to disseminate indecent material to minors, a felony punishable by four years in prison, and attempting to endanger the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor. At Mr. Farrell’s arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court, Judge Karen Lupuloff set bail at $10,000 and scheduled his next court date for Friday. Mr. Farrell was arrested by undercover detectives at around 8:20 a.m. at a McDonald’s restaurant in Queens, an assistant district attorney, Maxine Rosenthal, said. The officer expected to meet someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl he had contacted in an Internet chat room, she said. The prosecutor said Mr. Farrell, a police officer since June 1992, had communicated online with five people he thought were underage girls, discussing the kind of sex he liked and talking about sexual accessories. Mr. Farrell’s lawyer, Paul Martin, asked the judge to release his client on his own recognizance. He said Mr. Farrell owns his own home, is married to a New York police officer, has two children, and has no intention of fleeing. Mr. Martin also said Mr. Farrell has been suspended, has had his gun and badge taken away, and has been ordered to check in with his supervising officers three times a week.

– Associated Press

EX-BOYFRIEND ARRESTED IN SLAYING OF A BROTHER AND SISTER

The ex-boyfriend of a Queens woman was arrested Monday for allegedly killing the woman and her younger brother last week, police said. Jin Lin, 23, was charged with stabbing to death Sharon Ng, 21, and her 18-year-old brother, Simon. The siblings, both Hong Kong immigrants, were killed last Thursday in the Flushing apartment they shared. Police arrested Mr. Lin after discovering his name in Sharon’s diary and in a computer entry Simon wrote that day, according to published reports. Mr. Lin was charged with first-degree murder, burglary, and weapons counts. The siblings moved to New York with their parents in 1997 and stayed in the city when their mother and father returned to Hong Kong. Simon Ng was a first-year student at Queens College, while his sister sold cell-phone service in Chinatown. Simon was declared dead at the scene; his sister died at Booth Memorial Hospital about an hour after the two bodies were found, police said.

– Associated Press

STATEN ISLAND

TRIO OF 15-YEAR-OLDS CHARGED WITH ARSON ON BUS

Three teenagers were arrested yesterday after they attempted to set fire to a wheelchair-bound man’s belongings while he was riding on a city bus on Staten Island, police said. The three 15-year-olds, who were skipping school, fled on foot after the alleged attempted arson, which occurred when the bus was at Crossfield Avenue and Arthur Kill Road yesterday at 11 a.m. The three teenagers were later arrested and charged with arson, criminal mischief, and reckless endangerment, police said. The 57-year-old victim was not injured. The bus was taken to the Yukon bus depot for further investigation. Bus drivers are equipped with and trained to use fire extinguishers, a spokesman for New York City Transit said.

– Special to the Sun

STATE

INDUSTRIALIST FORMS NEW POLITICAL PARTY BUFFALO – An industrialist who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2004 yesterday announced the formation of a new Save Jobs Party, with a focus on doing away with existing free trade policies. Jack Davis, president of I Squared R Element Co. in Akron, N.Y., said policies including the North American Free Trade Agreement are destroying the American economy. “Misguided trade policies have decreased wages for American workers and decreased profits for American farms and industries. These policies are responsible for a trifecta of record trade deficits, record budget deficits, and record personal deficits,” Mr. Davis said in a mission statement. “Continuing these misguided policies amounts to national economic suicide.” The party platform includes national, state, and Buffalo-area issues, from opposing the privatization of Social Security accounts and enforcing immigration laws to reforming Medicaid spending. Mr. Davis challenged Republican Rep. Thomas Reynolds’s re-election bid last year.

– Associated Press