CITYWIDE

MTA POSTPONES POSSIBLE FARE HIKE

MTA officials yesterday postponed the possible implementation of a biannual subway fare increase to September 1, 2007 from January 1, 2007, due to an increase in revenue and the elimination of a holiday fare program. The continuation of the board’s policy to raise fare and toll prices would help close the looming multi-year billion dollar deficits projected for 2008, 2009, and 2010.The board will approve the final budget for 2007 in December, at which point the MTA will make a decision about the fare and toll increase. In the meantime, Ms. Lapp said the board will “monitor our revenues and expenses as well as consider actions taken by the new governor and state Legislature … that will affect the MTA budget.” Mayor Bloomberg said he does not support a fare hike at this time.

— Special to the Sun

CITY ENDS FISCAL 2006 WITH RECORD SURPLUS

New York City ended fiscal 2006 on June 30 with a record $6.1 billion surplus as Wall Street profits and surging real estate values boosted revenue, State Comptroller Alan Hevesi said. New York is using $2.3 billion to shore up its fiscal health, including setting aside $1 billion in a trust fund to cover future retirement health costs of city workers, Mr. Hevesi said.The remaining $3.8 billion will be used to balance this year’s budget.

— Bloomberg News

BLOOMBERG SAYS CITY MUST WIN LABOR UNION REFORMS

Mayor Bloomberg warned yesterday that unless the city wins reforms from labor unions, New Yorkers will pay the price with higher taxes and decreased services. During his annual testimony in front of the state’s Financial Control Board, Mr. Bloomberg said the city would negotiate with the Municipal Labor Committee to decrease the amount of money it pays for pension and health care. “Unless we achieve such reforms, when bad economic times return — as they inevitably will — New Yorkers will pay a heavy price in reduced services and higher taxes,” he said. The caution echoed a new rallying cry for Mr. Bloomberg who says the city has a good handle on its controlled costs, but that “fringe costs” are skyrocketing. Yesterday he said the city’s economic indicators are strong with rising employment, construction, and tourism, but that fiscal restraint is still necessary because there are signs of a softening economy. Mr. Bloomberg has said he plans to set up a committee to evaluate pension changes and will urge the labor leaders to negotiate health care contributions.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

STATEWIDE

MISSING COMPUTER HOLDING PERSONAL DATA OF 540,000 FOUND

ALBANY — A computer that went missing with the personal information of as many as 540,000 injured workers has been located, state officials said yesterday. The FBI and the private company that had been in possession of the state-owned personal computer would not say how or where it was found, only that it was in “a secure location.” Officials said Monday the computer was missing from a secured facility of Chicago-based CS Stars, an independent insurance brokerage. Most of the workers are New Yorkers from across the state who are in two special funds of the workers’ compensation system.

— Associated Press

IN THE COURTS

JUDGE BLASTS GOVERNMENT COERCION IN KPMG TAX SHELTER CASE

Federal prosecutors used excessive economic pressure to coerce two partners at the KPMG accounting firm into cooperating in an investigation of illegal tax shelters, a judge ruled yesterday. A U.S. district judge, Lewis Kaplan, said he was wouldn’t allow statements made by the two men to be used at their upcoming trial. The decision was the judge’s second targeting what he said were improper efforts by the government to get KPMG to force employees to cooperate in the probe, which led to charges against 18 people.

— Associated Press

JUDGE REJECTS LANGONE MOTION IN SPITZER SUIT

ALBANY — A state judge yesterday denied a motion by the Home Depot Inc. founder, Kenneth Langone, to dismiss part of a lawsuit over executive compensation at the New York Stock Exchange that targets Mr. Langone. The New York attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, has accused Mr. Langone, a former chairman of the NYSE’s compensation committee, of misleading other board members about former stock exchange chairman Richard Grasso’s pay. At issue is Mr. Grasso’s deferred compensation program, called a capital accumulation plan, or CAP. The trial date was moved up a month, to September 5.

— Associated Press

QUEENS

ENGINE FAILS ON PLANE CARRYING 253 PEOPLE, LANDS SAFELY

A commercial plane carrying more than 250 people experienced engine failure Wednesday, and pilots landed it safely at a nearby airport, officials said. The Boeing 777 plane landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport less than a half hour after one of its two engines failed, an American Airlines spokesman, Billy Sanez, said. Officials were investigating what caused the problem on Flight 134. “The plane landed after the captain declared an emergency,” Sanez said. “It’s not a common incident, but the pilots are trained to deal with these situations.”

— Associated Press

POLICE BLOTTER

MAN SHOT DEAD BY BICYCLIST

An unidentified man was killed yesterday in Brooklyn after a man on a bicycle shot him, police said. The victim — who was not immediately identified — was standing at the intersection of Evergreen Avenue and Troutman Street in Bushwick when he was shot around 1:25 p.m. Police said the perpetrator rode by on his bike, and shot the man in the chest. The victim was pronounced dead at Woodhull Hospital, police said. Last night, police could not confirm if the victim was the intended target or if the shooting was random.

— Special to the Sun