CITYWIDE

THEATER OWNERS MUST DISCLOSE ACTUAL MOVIE START TIMES

Movie theater owners could be fined up to $1,000 for disclosing movie start times that announce the beginning of pre-movie advertising rather than the start of the film if the City Council passes proposed legislation that was considered by the Committee on Consumer Affairs yesterday.

Movie theaters have increasingly played long-format commercials before film previews, and most movies now begin 10 to 15 minutes later than advertised. This change initiated a barrage of complaints from consumers, who charge that they are being misled and taken advantage of by a burgeoning pre-movie advertising industry. Council Member Gale Brewer, whose district encompasses the Upper West Side, has received constituent complaints and is the sponsor of the legislation that was introduced on February 16.

– Special to the Sun

HEALTH CARE SECURITY ACT DEMONSTRATION HELD

More than 100 supporters of the Health Care Security Act, a spirited mix of men in hard-hats, elderly women in feathered fedoras, and even a fully frocked monk, gathered in the suffocating heat at a press conference on the steps of City Hall yesterday to support legislation aimed at securing health-insurance coverage for New Yorkers in the building service, grocery, construction, laundry, and hotel industries, where employer-based coverage currently exists, but may decline. The legislation would protect employers in those industries from competition, and the resulting cuts in health benefits, by requiring all employers to pay for a minimum level of health care for their employees. The press conference coincided with the City Council’s health committee second hearing on the legislation, which was designed by the Brennan Center, a legal research and advocacy center affiliated with NYU School of Law.

– Special to the Sun

BLOOMBERG REJECTS PILOTS BILL

In his latest veto that is likely to be overridden by the City Council, Mayor Bloomberg yesterday rejected a bill that would give city lawmakers control over payments in lieu of taxes, known as PILOTS.

These payments are commonly made by businesses that have received exemptions from regular property taxes in order to promote economic development. Under a policy dating back to at least the Giuliani administration, PILOTS are controlled by the mayor alone. Mr. Bloomberg made PILOTS a centerpiece of the failed plan for a West Side Stadium. Council members then passed a law giving them the same control over PILOTS that lawmakers have always had over other city revenues. If the council overrides the veto, as expected, Mr. Bloomberg has vowed a court fight.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

DOE TO OFFER SUMMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TO FIFTH-GRADERS

Last year, the Department of Education “invited” third-graders who had failed their math or reading exams to Summer Success Academy. By the end of the summer, many children passed their exams and were promoted, under the mayor’s plan to end social promotion to the fourth grade. This year, Summer Success Academy will be available to failing fifth-graders as well, as part of the expanded social promotion plan, the department announced yesterday.

The Education Department also announced that more English-language learners would have summer-school opportunities this year and that teachers and parent coordinators would reach out to families aggressively, explaining the merits of summer school. “Last year’s Summer Success Academy was a tremendous success, especially for those students who attended regularly,” Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said. The department is spending $5 million more on the summer school program this year. The money comes from a grant from the mayor’s executive budget. Parents will learn by June 24 if their children are being asked to attend summer school.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

REPORT: CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENTS OUTPERFORM PUBLIC SCHOOLS

New York City charter-school students outperformed students at regular public schools on this year’s citywide math and English exams, according to the Center for Charter School Excellence. About 62% of charter-school students in grades three, five, six, and seven passed the English exam, compared to 55% at traditional public schools. At charter schools, 61% met or exceeded math standards, compared to 50% at traditional public schools. “These results show that public charter schools, which serve students in some of the city’s neediest communities, are having a positive impact on overall efforts to raise academic achievement in the New York City school system,” the center’s director, Paula Gavin, said. Last month, the center announced that 11 of 16 charter schools outperformed their district averages on the statewide fourth-grade English exam. Five of the six middle-school charter schools outperformed their district averages.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS SUPPORTS BLOOMBERG The New York League of Conservation Voters threw its support behind Mayor Bloomberg yesterday. “In the end, it is his leadership, his vision, and his tenacity that has set him above the other candidates,” the league’s executive director, Marcia Bystryn, said, as she listed off a number of the mayor’s environmental programs that had benefited New Yorkers. The mayor took the endorsement as an opportunity to talk about the merits of his solid waste-management plan, which was voted down Wednesday by the City Council. Mr. Bloomberg charged that the City Council speaker, Gifford Miller, who is a Democratic candidate for mayor, put down the plan because of politics.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

QUEENS

ABANDONED BABY FOUND ON DOORSTEP

An unidentified newborn boy was found abandoned in a black canvas cooler bag on a man’s stoop in Ridgewood, Queens, yesterday, police said. Paramedics rushed the newborn baby to nearby Wyckoff Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition after suffering from heat exposure and dehydration, police said. An unidentified man called police in the early afternoon after finding the baby swaddled in the cooler bag. Police don’t know who found the baby – they said it is not necessarily the man who lived at the building. Police said they are looking for a 5-foot tall Hispanic woman who is believed to be the mother of the child. Under a 2000 New York state law, the Abandoned Infant Protection Act, parents can leave newborn infants not more than five days old with someone at a hospital, police, or fire station without fear of arrest.

– Special to the Sun

COUSINS CHARGED IN MURDER OF DOORMAN

A pair of Pakistani cousins have been arrested and charged with the grisly murder of a Pakistani doorman, Arshad Mahmood, who was found savagely beaten, stabbed, and strangled with a scarf after being dumped on a street in Queens. The cousins, Farhan Ahmed, 22, and Mahmood Arshad, both who reside in the same home in the Elmhurst section of Queens, are alleged to have strangled Mahmood to death with a scarf on Wednesday night, while also stabbing and beating him to death with a metal pipe. After the beating, they are alleged to have driven to a nearby street, dumping his body and later tossing their bloodied clothes in a dumpster. One suspected motive in the murder, law enforcement sources said, is an alleged love affair between Mahmood and Mr. Arshad’s wife.

Attorneys representing the arrested men could not be immediately reached.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun