POLITICS

GIULIANI: ‘I THINK I’LL RETURN TO POLITICS’

Mayor Giuliani said yesterday that he plans to return to politics but that it is too early to say if that will be for the 2008 presidential campaign. “I think I’ll return to politics,” Mr. Giuliani said in a speech to business leaders. Called “America’s Mayor” after his performance in leading New York City following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, Mr. Giuliani has spent the years since working as a corporate executive and public speaker. The business event, hosted by Visa USA, brought together corporate leaders, anti-fraud experts, and government officials to discuss credit card security. But the first question from audience members was about Mr. Giuliani’s possible return to public office. Asked if he had any “political visions,” Mr. Giuliani laughed and rubbed his forehead. “I have some political visions. I don’t know what they are yet; they’re a little foggy,” he said.

– Associated Press

QUEENS

PROSECUTORS SAY NOTORIOUS GRAFFITI VANDAL ARRESTED

Queens prosecutors believe they may have nabbed one of the city’s most notorious graffiti vandals after the arrest yesterday of a Manhattan man who they say has defaced various facades in the city for more than a decade. Oliver Siandre, 27, was charged with vandalizing public and private property in Astoria and Long Island City, the Queens district attorney, Richard Brown, said yesterday. Mr. Siandre is accused of spray-painting his graffiti tag name, “Kiko,” on at least two spots in the borough. More charges are possible, however, as investigators comb Queens for additional “Kiko” markings. Mr. Siandre faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

– Special to the Sun

POLICE BLOTTER

MAN ARRESTED FOR STEALING STEAK

Police arrested and charged Stanley Green, 48, for allegedly stealing a rib eye steak from Gristedes supermarket at 2704 Broadway, between 103rd and 104th streets. On Sunday at 5:15 p.m., a security officer, 31, in the supermarket saw the suspect slip the meat – valued at $52 – from the shelf into his knapsack, the authorities said. The district attorney’s office charged him with petty larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. His next court date is October 14.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

CHILD FALLS FROM WINDOW AFTER LEANING ON AC UNIT

A 3-year-old child plummeted five stories after leaning against an unstable window box air-conditioning unit, police said. Shortly after 6:30 p.m. yesterday, the child was playing with another 3-year-old in a room in a Creston Avenue building near the Grand Concourse in the Bronx when they leaned on the air-conditioning unit, police said. The children fell out of the window, but one, a visitor to the apartment, managed to hold onto the window frame and climb back inside. The 3-year-old resident plunged to the ground, and the air-conditioning unit followed. The injured child’s parents were home at the time of the fall. The injured child was in stable condition at nearby St. Barnabas Hospital last night.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

CITYWIDE

EASTBOUND LANES ON BRUCKNER EXPRESSWAY, BOULEVARD CLOSED

The eastbound lanes of the Bruckner Expressway and Bruckner Boulevard will remain closed to traffic until further notice after the explosion Tuesday of a tanker truck carrying heating oil, the Department of Transportation said. The westbound lanes have reopened. Traffic will be re-routed using signs and traffic agents. Amtrak has canceled its high-speed Acela train service from New York to Boston until further notice. Travelers will experience 30- to-45-minute delays on regional Amtrak service.

– Special to the Sun

UPSTATE

TESTS SHOW DOOMED TOUR BOAT WAS UNSTABLE

A tour boat nearly identical to the one that capsized in Lake George, N.Y., killing 20 elderly tourists, became unstable when less than a quarter of the weight the Ethan Allen carried was placed on its edge during tests yesterday, the National Transportation Safety Board said. The stability test found the Ethan Allen’s sister boat unsuited to handle the weight of the 48 adults who were aboard, the acting chairman of the NTSB, Mark Rosenker, said.

– Associated Press