TRISTATE

GIANTS, JETS REACH AGREEMENT ON NEW STADIUM IN MEADOWLANDS

The New York Giants and Jets have reached agreement on a deal for a new stadium in the Meadowlands. The new facility will be built near Giants Stadium, which is currently home to both teams. The acting governor, Richard Codey, announced the deal at a late afternoon news conference, saying it would guarantee that both teams remain in New Jersey for the next 99 years. Mr. Codey, appearing at Giants Stadium with the owners of both teams, said the Jets would also relocate their practice facility to New Jersey. Mr. Codey noted it will be the first time an NFL stadium will be jointly operated by two teams. – Associated Press

CITYWIDE

BLOGGER RAISING $500 TO LICENSE iPOD MTA MAPS

A blogger who received a “cease and desist” letter from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for making a subway map available as an iPod download has nearly raised the $500 required to license the map for one year, according to his Web site, www.ipodsubwaymaps.com. On his blog, William Bright said that by yesterday afternoon he had raised $450 from a few “very generous PayPal donations.” Mr. Bright, however, worried that paying for the map could set an expensive precedent, since he has scores of maps on his site and another “cease and desist” letter from the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. Efforts to replicate the map have been rejected by the MTA because the product is too similar to its copyrighted version.

– Special to the Sun

3 OF 4 UPPER LEVEL LANES ON GWB TO BE CLOSED OVER WEEKEND

Three of the four upper level lanes on the George Washington Bridge will be closed overnight Friday and Saturday, causing significant delays, Port Authority officials said. The closures, part of the bridge’s repainting project, will be from 10 p.m. Friday until 10 a.m. Saturday and 10 p.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday. One lane will remain open in each direction, but 20-minute delays are expected when construction equipment is moved periodically. Commercial vehicles must use the bridge’s upper level at all times. Port Authority officials suggest using alternate routes or public transportation. – Special to the Sun

HIKIND BRANDS TIME WARNER’S ‘PARADISE NOW’ PROPAGANDA

Time Warner’s decision to distribute the Palestinian Authority’s Academy Award submission for best foreign-language film, “Paradise Now,” is provoking outrage from some who view the movie as sympathetic to suicide bombers. One is New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a Democrat of Brooklyn, who has branded “Paradise Now” – which tells the story of two young Palestinian Arab men who decide to become suicide bombers – “propaganda.” The movie will be screened next week at the New York Film Festival, and will open in the city late next month. In the meantime, Mr. Hikind, after viewing the film earlier this week, denounced Time Warner yesterday for being “out of their minds to distribute a film which humanizes terrorists.” “Paradise Now,” which has won several international film awards, is being distributed by Warner Independent Pictures, a division of Warner Brothers, which is a subsidiary of Time Warner.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

ALBANY

MOSQUE LEADERS CHARGED WITH CONSPIRING TO AID TERRORISTS

A federal grand jury has handed up new indictments charging two leaders of an area mosque with conspiring to support a terrorist group, the U.S. attorney said yesterday. The superseding indictment returned yesterday also charges Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain with attempting to provide support to Jaish-e-Mohammed, an Islamic extremist organization based in Pakistan that is on the State Department’s list of designated foreign terrorist organizations.

– Associated Press

BROOKLYN

CONVICTED MURDERER RELEASED IN LATEST TWIST IN MAFIA COPS CASE

A man convicted in the slaying of a prostitute 17 years ago was freed yesterday amid new allegations he was framed by a former police detective who was protecting the Mafia. A Brooklyn judge released Barry Gibbs, 57, after prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed his 1988 murder conviction should be vacated. He walked out of the courthouse yesterday morning arm-in-arm with his defense attorneys; a news conference was scheduled for later in the day.

– Associated Press

POLICE BLOTTER

FOUR BANK ROBBERIES ON UES IN ONE MONTH

Three bank branches on the Upper East Side were targeted for robbery in September, police officials said. One of the branches was even hit twice this month. Yesterday at about 12:38 p.m., a man passed a demand note to a teller at the JPMorgan Chase Bank at 181 E. 90th St., authorities said. The suspect allegedly fled with about $400 including bait money. At the same location on September 1 at 3:31 p.m., a man passed a demand note, which said, “I have a gun in my pocket and 10-pound homemade bomb. Give me $10,000 or we’ll all go to Hell,” authorities said. The man left with a decoy pack including $200. This branch was hit a third time within the past six months, law enforcement officials said. Last Saturday at 10:45 a.m., a man robbed North Fork Bank at 300 E.79th St., authorities said. He allegedly approached a teller, demanded money be placed into his bag, and fled with $4,240 including bait money.

On September 21, a bank robber allegedly approached a teller at the Commerce Bank at 1504 Third Ave., between 84th and 85th streets. He demanded money in increments of 100-, 50-, and 20-dollar bills. The suspect fled with $629 including a dye pack. It was unclear if any of the incidents were related.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

NINE ARRESTED IN BRONX SCHOOL PROTEST

Nine students at John F. Kennedy High School were arrested yesterday when a riot broke out among a large group of protesting students in the back of the school, at 99 Terrace View Ave., police said. Police said when they arrived at the school at 2:25 p.m., several students were throwing bottles at a police car. A large group of students gathered to protest the reduction in the number of guidance counselors at the school to six from 10, the Department of Education said. The number of students at the school decreased this year to 3,200 from 4,200 last year because it is considered a problem school and is in the process of being phased out. Typically there are 425 students assigned to a guidance counselor, but because of budget cuts at the school this year, the number was reduced. The freshman students have been assigned to teachers while the remaining 2,600 students have had to make do with the six counselors. Three students were arrested in the school and six were arrested down the block, the education department said. It was not immediately clear if the students were going to be suspended, but typically students that have been arrested are suspended, the department said. Police arrested Devon Brown, 17, on charges of obstructing governmental administration, rioting, criminal possession of a weapon, and menacing. They also arrested the following students and charged them with rioting: Jose Tavarez, 18, Wilson Torres, 17, and Erick Pascual, 17. In addition, two 16-year-old males were charged with rioting and a third 16-year-old was charged with rioting as well as menacing and criminal possession of a weapon. Two 15-year-old males were also charged with rioting. No injuries were reported at the scene.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun