CITYWIDE

CITY EXPANDS EFFORT TO FIGHT HOMELESSNESS

The city is stepping up its efforts to fight homelessness by pouring more money into a prevention program and by targeting dozens of areas where homeless New Yorkers congregate, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday in a speech in Washington. Using money saved from a decline in homeless shelter population, the city will add $10 million to expand an outreach initiative in neighborhoods deemed at risk for homelessness. Mr. Bloomberg, speaking before the National Alliance to End Homelessness, said city officials have identified 73 locations where small groups of homeless people have set up makeshift shelters. City aid workers would approach these clusters, the mayor said, and “humanely, respectfully, and firmly” encourage them to enter supportive housing, treatment programs, or shelters. In announcing the new initiatives, Mr. Bloomberg touted the administration’s progress in reducing homelessness under his watch, criticizing past policies that relied on “a self-defeating conventional wisdom” to combat the problem. Citing citywide counts that showed a 20% drop since 2003, the mayor said the city was on its way to achieving his goal of reducing homelessness by two-thirds by 2009.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

PATAKI, BLOOMBERG SAY THEY SUPPORT ISRAEL IN CONFLICT WITH HEZBOLLAH

In statements released today, both Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg expressed their support for Israel in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. “No country can stand idly by in the face of an indiscriminate barrage of missiles and rockets deep inside its borders and not take steps to defend its citizens. As New Yorkers, we have felt the scourge of terrorism and we know that we must combat it everywhere,” Mr. Pataki said in a statement. Mr. Bloomberg praised President Bush for his support of Israel and urged New Yorkers to “stand with Israel as we have done for the past 58 years.”

— Special to the Sun

MANHATTAN

DOCTOR’S DEATH IN TOWN-HOUSE EXPLOSION IS DECLARED A SUICIDE

A doctor who blew up an Upper East Side town house that he was about to lose in a divorce settlement died of severe burns and complications from diabetes and heart disease, the medical examiner’s office said yesterday in declaring his death a suicide. Dr. Nicholas Bartha, 66, succumbed late Saturday to injuries he suffered in the building explosion last week.

— Associated Press

LEW QUITS EXECUTIVE POST AT NYU TO TAKE CITIGROUP MANAGEMENT JOB

A former Cabinet member in President Clinton’s administration stepped down as executive vice-president of New York University to take a top management job at Citigroup, officials at Citigroup said.Jacob Lew is the former director of the United States Office of Management and Budget.When he left Mr.Clinton’s administration in 2001, he became the first appointee of the New York University president, John Sexton, to the core group of administrators that runs the university. He was responsible for finance, budget, and operations at NYU, the largest private university in the country. Mr. Lew started at his position as chief operating officer of Citigroup’s Global Wealth Management sector yesterday, company officials said.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

IN THE COURTS

ALLEGED STABBER: BRUSH-OFF BY CANADIAN TOURISTS FUELED RAMPAGE

A man accused of stabbing two Canadian women walking in Manhattan’s theater district told investigators he was angry because when he tried to talk to them, they snubbed him, according to a police report made public yesterday during his arraignment. “Yeah, those white girls. …They don’t want to talk to anybody, so I went after them,” Kenny Alexis allegedly told investigators. Mr. Alexis, 20, of Boston, pleaded not guilty yesterday to attempted murder and assault of the Canadian tourists and two other victims elsewhere last month during a 13-hour rampage.

— Associated Press

WATERWAY FERRY TO PAY $1.2 MILLION TO SETTLE SEPTEMBER 11 CLAIMS

The nation’s largest privately held ferry service will pay $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit in which the federal government said it made fraudulent claims for payment for emergency services it provided after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

— Associated Press

POLICE BLOTTER

GIRL STRUCK BY CAR

A Staten Island girl was struck by a car yesterday, after she may have run into the street to chase her dog. The 9-year-old girl was hit by a 2005 Nissan Sentra shortly after 8 a.m. near the intersection of Henderson and Brentwood Avenues in Snug Harbor, police said. The girl was brought to St. Vincent’s Hospital and is in critical condition. No arrests were made, and police said they do not suspect criminality.

— Special to the Sun

STATEWIDE

FAMILIES OF TWA 800 VICTIMS REMEMBER CRASH ON 10TH ANNIVERSARY

SHIRLEY — On a steamy afternoon similar to the day 10 years ago when they hugged their loved ones for the last time, relatives of the 230 people who died in a fireball aboard TWA Flight 800 gathered yesterday to dedicate the final piece of the memorial to the victims and the rescuers who raced in vain to the crash site.

— Associated Press