CITYWIDE

Bloomberg and Governor Bush Pair Up Again

Just weeks after penning an opinion piece together about federal education laws, Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Bush of Florida are teaming up again next week.The pair is slated to address the Association for a Better New York breakfast on Tuesday to discuss increasing accountability and improving results in public schools. In an opinion piece published in the Washington Post, Messrs. Bloomberg and Bush list several ways to improve the federal No Child Left Behind Act before Congress considers reauthorizing it.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

Woman Struck on UES

A woman was in critical condition last night after being struck by a livery car on the Upper East Side yesterday, police said. The woman, who was not immediately identified, was crossing the street near the intersection of East 79th Street and York Avenue when the accident occurred around 4:40 p.m., police said. She was taken to Cornell Medical Center, police said. As of last night, no charges were filed against the driver.

— Special To the Sun

Heavy Smoke Rises From Bronx Auto Shop

An auto parts store burst into flames late yesterday afternoon, spewing thick black smoke that could be seen from miles away. About 150 firefighters responded to the three-alarm fire at Apex Used Auto Parts on Bronx River Avenue in the Bronx. The building, in an industrial area near railroad tracks, was enveloped in flames, and several cars were on fire. The smoke could be seen from neighboring New Jersey. No injuries were immediately reported. Amtrak said eight trains, including four that turned back to Manhattan’s Pennsylvania Station, were delayed. Passengers were being bused to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Trains were running as scheduled by late evening. No injuries were immediately reported, and the cause of the fire hadn’t been identified. Firefighters were still extinguishing the blaze last night.

— Associated Press

‘Bouncer Bill’ Signed

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday signed into law the so-called “bouncer bill,” which requires bars and clubs to hire licensed security guards and allows the city to shutter them if they do not. The law, which the City Council overwhelmingly approved last week, follows the February murder of Imette St. Guillen, allegedly at the hands of the bouncer at the lower Manhattan bar where she was last seen.The incident is one of several recently in which club-goers have been found killed after long nights of drinking, leading city officials to seek a crackdown on nightlife safety. The council has proposed to add security cameras at nightclubs and is planning a security summit next month.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

IN THE COURTS

Toll Collector Accused Of Highway Robbery

A toll collector at the Queens Midtown Tunnel stole more than $2,000 in tolls, Queens prosecutors charged yesterday. Robert Applegate, 27, was arrested yesterday morning after his eight-hour shift ended at 7 a.m., a spokesman for the Queens District Attorney’s office, Kevin Ryan, said.Mr. Applegate, of Queens, was a part-time employee for the MTA’s Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, the district attorney, Richard Brown, said in an e-mailed statement.Over the course of 64 shifts, Mr. Applegate stole $2,077.21, Mr. Brown said.”The defendant is accused of highway robbery —taking toll payments from motorists and pocketing the money,” Mr. Brown said. If convicted of larceny and other charges, Mr. Applegate faces up to four years in prison.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

POLIC E BLOTTER

Man Extradited, Charged With Abusing Children

A former Manhattan superintendent who allegedly preyed on children living in his building was arrested yesterday after being extradited back to New York from the Dominican Republic, police said. Police said Antonio Lantigua, 58, was indicted for sodomy and sexual abuse stemming from at least two incidents that took place at an undisclosed location in Washington Heights in 2002.

— Special to the Sun