MANHATTAN

PLAZA’S PALM COURT LANDMARKED, SET FOR RESTORED GLASS DOME

The Palm Court, the Oak Bar, and the two main lobbies of the Plaza Hotel were landmarked yesterday by city officials, who also approved a plan by the Fifth Avenue fixture’s new owners for the multimillion-dollar restoration of a stained-glass dome dating back to its 1907 debut. The Landmark Preservation Committee voted to designate eight public spaces inside the internationally known hotel, while offering its approval for work on the spectacular dome above the Palm Court, the committee chairman, Robert Tierney, said. The proposal now moves on to the city Planning Commission. “This is an incredibly significant step, one that (owner) Elad Properties is delighted to be able to take – to be able to restore the great landmark to the condition it should be,” an Elad spokesman, Lloyd Kaplan, said. In addition to the lobbies, the Palm Court, and the Oak Bar, the commission landmarked the Terrace Room, the Edwardian Room, the Oak Room, and the Grand Ballroom at its meeting. But the big news was the restoration of the stained-glass dome above the Palm Court. The laylight, as it’s known, was constructed above the court when the hotel opened in 1907. A 1921 addition to the Plaza partially blocked light to the dome, and it was sealed off – possibly for security reasons at the tail end of World War II – by then-owner Conrad Hilton in 1945. Elad has launched a $350 million renovation of the tony beaux arts landmark after closing the hotel on April 30.

– Associated Press

UPSTATE

CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST MAYOR WHO MARRIED GAY COUPLES

Criminal charges against the mayor of New Paltz for marrying gay couples were dropped yesterday by the prosecutor, who said a trial would be unnecessary and divisive. Village Mayor Jason West had potentially faced fines and up to a year in jail related to 24 misdemeanor counts filed after he married about two dozen gay couples in February 2004. The highly publicized ceremonies briefly made Mr. West’s little Hudson Valley village a focus of the gay-marriage debate, then roiling the nation.

Mr. West became the second public official in the nation to marry same-sex couples, following San Francisco’s mayor, Gavin Newsom. He was charged with violating the state’s domestic relations law. A trial could have come by this fall.

But in a surprise move, Ulster County District Attorney Donald Williams told the court he would decline further criminal action against Mr. West. Mr. Williams told the presiding judge that Mr. West is already enjoined from marrying more gay couples because of a separate civil case and that courts and state officials have disagreed with Mr. West’s interpretation of the law.

“While a trial in this case would be filled with rhetoric and hyperbole, it would be lacking in a viable public purpose,” Mr. Williams wrote.

Mr. West claimed victory, though he said he and his lawyer had looked forward to arguing his case before a jury.

– Associated Press

POLICE BLOTTER

FEMALE TORSO FOUND ON QUEENS SHORE

The torso of a woman was found near the East River off Queens yesterday, police officials said.

While the woman has not yet been identified by the medical examiner’s office, police said they were investigating whether the torso belonged to a missing woman, Rawayti Haimraj, 35, whose hands, feet, and shaven head were found in a box near Pugsley Creek in the Bronx last week.

– Special to the Sun

TEACHER ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

A high school English teacher in Brooklyn was arrested on felony charges of possessing child pornography and promoting the obscene sexual performance of a child yesterday morning, police said.

The teacher, identified as Craig Roffman, 29, of 573 6th St., in Park Slope, was arrested at his home.

According to a spokesman from the Department of Education, procedures have begun to fire Mr. Roffman from his job at James Madison High School.

Police said Mr. Roffman was arrested as part of an ongoing computer child pornography investigation. Mr. Roffman had received images of child pornography over e-mail, police said. It is not yet known if he also distributed the material to others, police said. Mr. Roffman could not be reached for comment.

– Special to the Sun

CITY COUNCIL

JENNINGS SUES COUNCIL OVER REFUSAL TO PUBLISH MAILING

City Council Member Alan Jennings Jr. sued the City Council yesterday after leaders refused to publish a mailing to be sent to his constituents. Mr. Jennings was censured by the council in April, fined $5,000, and ordered to enroll in anger management classes in connection with several sexual harassment complaints filed against him.

According to published reports, the suit filed yesterday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan argues that the council’s decision to deny him the post-budget mailings that it covers for its members violates his constitutional right to due process. Mr. Jennings has refused to pay the fine, citing his right to appeal the punishments that the council imposed after months of closed-door hearings. His suit also says that it is unconstitutional for the council to take the action. A spokesman for the City Council speaker, Gifford Miller, said he had not seen the lawsuit, but confirmed the council had declined to pay for mailings to Mr. Jennings constituents. The spokesman, Stephen Sigmund, said the council would not pay for the mailings until Mr. Jennings pays the fine, enrolls in anger management classes, and complies with the rest of the council’s orders. A lawyer for Mr. Jennings, Robert Ellis, did not return calls for comment last night.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun