STATEWIDE

REPUBLICAN ACTIVISTS LAUNCH WEB SITE TO SUPPORT NOVELLO

A group of Republican activists have launched a Web site, www.draftnovello.com, to drum up support for the state’s health commissioner, Dr. Antonia Novello, to run for Senate this fall. Born in Puerto Rico, Dr. Novello became the first woman and the first Hispanic to serve as U.S. surgeon general when President George H.W. Bush appointed her in 1990. She became New York’s top health official in 1999. The GOP lacks a major candidate to challenge Senator Clinton after the former Westchester district attorney, Jeanine Pirro, abandoned her bid last month. A former Yonkers mayor, John Spencer, and a tax attorney from Sullivan County, William Brenner, are both running for the Republican nomination. Dr. Novello has not said whether she intends to run, but Governor Pataki said yesterday that she would be a “strong candidate,” the Associated Press reported.

– Special to the Sun

MANHATTAN

SILVERSTEIN SIGNS AMERIPRISE AS SECOND TENANT AT WTC

Developer Larry Silverstein’s 7 World Trade Center, the first skyscraper to be rebuilt near ground zero since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, signed its second tenant yesterday, Ameriprise Financial. The financial services company, a recent spin-off of American Express, leased half of the 39th floor for at least 10 years. Last month, the New York Academy of Sciences leased an entire floor to house its headquarters. The building, scheduled to open in March, is seen as a barometer to measure the demand for additional office space in Lower Manhattan. Mr. Silverstein’s plan calls for an additional 10 million square feet. At a regularly scheduled meeting of the city’s Industrial Development Agency next week, the city may decide whether or not to award $1.67 billion in tax-free financing, in the form of Liberty Bonds, to Mr. Silverstein to move ahead with his plan.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

GALLERY OWNER GETS PROBATION AFTER CONVICTION OF HIS MENTOR

An art gallery owner who was granted leniency after he provided information that led to the conviction of his mentor has been sentenced to three years’ probation for evading sales tax. James Sansum, 39, pleaded guilty Tuesday to failing to pay income tax on personal purchases that he made using gallery credit cards while working for Helen Fioratti at her East 73rd Street gallery – L’Antiquaire and the Connoisseur Incorporated. Fioratti, 74, an expert in European art, watched as he was sentenced to pay $58,000 in back taxes and three years’ probation.

– Associated Press

FAMILIES WILL BE ABLE TO VIEW VICTIMS’ REMAINS AT WTC MEMORIAL

Family members of victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks will be able to enter a private room in the World Trade Center memorial and look through a window at a chamber with drawers storing more than 9,000 unidentified remains, development officials said. In a “contemplation room” next door, the public will be able to pay respects to an empty, symbolic vessel. Development officials disclosed more information about the design this week as they sought construction bids for the memorial.

– Associated Press

POLICE BLOTTER

ATTORNEY EXPECTED TO QUESTION BRAUNSTEIN’S PSYCHIATRIC EXAM

The attorney representing Peter Braunstein, the man who allegedly dressed as a firefighter as a ruse to get into a woman’s apartment and sexually attack her in October, is expected to question the request for a psychiatric evaluation ordered for his client at Mr. Braunstein’s Manhattan Supreme Court arraignment today. According to the attorney, Robert Gottlieb, a judge can order a psychiatric examination at a criminal court arraignment only if it is to determine a defendant’s competency to stand trial. In Mr. Braunstein’s case, Mr. Gottlieb said yesterday, the reason for the exam is unclear. Mr. Braunstein, 41, has been in Bellevue’s prison ward since he was arraigned December 20. On Halloween, Mr. Braunstein, a freelance writer, allegedly made his way into a woman’s apartment in Chelsea by dressing as a firefighter and setting fires. When she opened the door, he forced his way in at gunpoint and drugged, sexually abused, and held her hostage for 13 hours, court documents said. Mr. Braunstein eluded capture until December 16, when police arrested him in Tennessee.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun