CITYWIDE

VALLONE TARGETS A GRAFFITI TOOL

Council Member Peter Vallone Jr. has been sued for sponsoring anti-graffiti legislation. His response has been to make his proposals even tougher. Undeterred by a federal lawsuit filed last month by fashion designer Marc Ecko, Mr. Vallone, a Democrat of Queens, said he plans to introduce a bill next week that would make it a crime to possess glass-etching acid without a license from the city. The proposal, he said, would crack down even further on graffiti vandalism by banning the potent substance often used to deface windows on the subway. “There doesn’t appear to be any legitimate need for this hazardous material,” Mr. Vallone said. Under his proposal, the Department of Consumer Affairs would regulate possession of the acid. Applicants for licenses would have to be “of good character” and would be subject to fingerprinting and a criminal background check. Violators would be subject to fines and up to three months in jail. Mr. Ecko’s attorney, Daniel Perez, yesterday called the new proposal “dead on arrival” and said Mr. Vallone was merely trying to lay the groundwork for a rumored run for Queens district attorney.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

LINCOLN CENTER INSTITUTE OFFERS $5,000 PRIZE TO CREATIVE SCHOOLS

Imagine this: a $5,000 prize for imagination. A new yearly competition sponsored by the Lincoln Center Institute will honor a New York City public school that encourages imagination in its classrooms. The winning school gets the money along with a certificate, a banner, and institute merchandise for its teachers.

– Associated Press

COUNCIL APPOINTS MULLIN AS COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

The City Council is tapping an associate commissioner in the Bloomberg administration to be its communications director, speaker Christine Quinn announced yesterday. The appointee, Sandra Mullin, now heads up communications at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, where she has worked for the past eight years. Ms. Mullin will start at the council in mid-June.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

CLEAR CHANNEL ASKED TO DONATE MONEY OVER DJ’S ON-AIR REMARKS

Clear Channel, owner of a hip-hop radio station whose disc jockey was arrested last week for on-air threats against a competitor’s young daughter, should donate $5.7 million to a foundation that protects children, City Council members said.

– Associated Press

LAWMAKERS TO PROTEST ‘PHONY DEMOLITIONS’

A group of elected officials, including the state Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, are planning a City Hall rally today to announce legislation to combat what they say are “phony demolitions.” The officials say landlords are twisting the meaning of a provision of state law to evict rent-stabilized tenants from buildings slated for conversion to higher rent luxury apartments and condos.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

POLICE BLOTTER

BODY IN RIVER IDENTIFIED AS THAT OF COLUMBIA STUDENT

Police have identified the body of a man found floating in the East River on Tuesday as Richard Ng, 22, a Columbia University student who disappeared last week. A spokeswoman for the Medical Examiner’s office said an autopsy yesterday positively identified Ng. The cause of death is unknown, pending further investigation. At Columbia’s graduation ceremony yesterday, the engineering school observed a moment of silence for the senior, who would have graduated yesterday.

– Special to the Sun

BRONX WOMAN FOUND DEAD ON APARTMENT ROOF

The body of a Bronx woman, wrapped in blankets and stuffed in a garbage can, was found on the roof of her apartment building on Tuesday, police said. Her body was found shortly before midnight by the superintendent of the building, located on the Grand Concourse, during a routine inspection of the area. Police did not report visible wounds, but have classified the death a homicide. As of last night, police did not release the name of the woman, believed to be in her 20s or 30s.

– Special to the Sun

SECOND TEENAGER CHARGED IN STABBING DEATH OF BRONX 15-YEAR-OLD

A second teenager has been charged in connection with the stabbing of a 15-year-old Bronx boy who struggled to get home to die in his mother’s arms. Wendell Bell, 13, was arrested and charged with murder, police said. Another 13-year-old, Joel Rivera, was charged in March, shortly after the February 25 killing of Edwin Owusu-Hammond.

– Associated Press

BROOKLYN

A BIG TURNOUT IS EXPECTED FOR CHARTER SCHOOL LOTTERY

Hundreds of parents are expected to pack into a school building in East New York, Brooklyn tonight to learn if they’ve won a spot for their children in the United Federation of Teachers’ new secondary charter school scheduled to open in September. More than 600 families applied for the 125 available seats. The school will open with fifth and sixth grades and will grow each year to eventually include up to the 12th grade.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

IN THE COURTS

TEENAGER CHARGED WITH HATE CRIME REFUSES TO LEAVE JAIL FOR COURT

The teenager charged with hate-crime assault for a Howard Beach baseball bat attack refused to leave his jail cell for a court appearance, a Queens judge said. A Supreme Court justice, Richard Buchter, said Tuesday that he would authorize the “use of force” to bring Nicholas Minucci to court. Without the 19-year-old present, the judge postponed what was to be the second day of jury selection in the trial.

– Associated Press

FORMER NURSING HOME OWNER CHARGED IN $3M MEDICAID CASE

ALBANY – The former owner of two Bronx nursing homes has been charged with bilking the state’s Medicaid program out of more than $3 million over almost seven years, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s office said yesterday. Abe Zelmanowicz, 52, of Scarsdale was indicted by an Albany County grand jury for fraudulent billing at the Eastchester Health Care Center and Split Rock Multi-Care Center. Mr. Zelmanowicz faces one count of grand larceny and 20 counts of offering a false instrument for filing.

– Associated Press

LAWYERS ARGUE OVER NATALEE HOLLOWAY CIVIL TRIAL SITE

The mother of the Alabama teen who vanished in Aruba, Natalee Holloway, heard arguments in court for the first time yesterday about whether the trial of her lawsuit over her daughter’s disappearance should be held in New York.

– Associated Press

ALBANY

SENATOR CLINTON CHARGES GOP ‘WAR’ ON CONTRACEPTION

Senator Clinton, a Democrat who has sought a political middle ground on the issue of abortion, told supporters yesterday that the GOP is trying to cut back women’s access to birth control. “There’s a quiet war going on in America – against the most basic rights of Americans to make their own personal decisions about family planning,” Mrs. Clinton wrote in a mass e-mail for her re-election campaign. Mrs. Clinton charged that the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress are whittling away at contraception options, particularly for poor women who rely on government-funded programs.

– Associated Press

LEGISLATURE APPROVES TWO BILLS COMBATING IDENTITY THEFT

The state Senate yesterday gave final legislative approval to three bills designed to combat identity theft. One bill would allow private companies, nonprofit groups and the state attorney general to bring civil actions against “phishing” scam artists. The legislation is being supported by Microsoft Corporation, AARP, and the New York State Telecommunications Association, among others.

– Associated Press

STATE: NEARLY 90% OF SCHOOL BUDGETS PASS

Nearly 90% of local school budgets were approved statewide Tuesday, a better rate of approval than a year ago, according to state Education Department statistics. The data show budgets were approved in 584 school districts and rejected in 73 districts, according to the preliminary survey of most districts.

– Associated Press

LONG ISLAND

TEENAGER ACCUSED OF STEALING PROTEST SIGN FACES DEPORTATION

SOUTHAMPTON – A Honduran teenager arrested for stealing an anti-immigration protest sign is facing deportation after authorities discovered he was allegedly in the country illegally, authorities said. Joel Martines, 19, was arrested last Thursday after he allegedly stole a sign being carried by an anti-immigration protester outside a 7-11 convenience store, Southampton police said.

– Associated Press