CITYWIDE

Quinn Quietly Pursues Changes to Term Limits

The City Council speaker, Christine Quinn, is planning to brief her members next Wednesday on the results of a poll she commissioned on term limits.The speaker has said she opposes term limits and has kept the results of the poll closely guarded. She said she would develop a strategy on the hot-button issue only after meeting with her colleagues.Any push to extend or repeal term limits would mean a confrontation with Mayor Bloomberg, who opposes a change.Ms. Quinn sent out a notice of the meeting on her personal stationery, a decision that her office said was consistent with her tack of keeping the issue out of City Hall. She paid for the poll largely with campaign funds, not taxpayer dollars.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

Judge Rules Kelly Does Not Have to Testify

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Police Commissioner Kelly does not have to answer questions about the police department’s decision to arrest and detain 1,800 protesters during the 2004 Republican National Convention. Lawyers representing hundreds of those protesters are suing the city. They had told the judge, Magistrate James Francis IV, that Mr. Kelly’s testimony was needed to determine how the police department had arrived at its policy.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

Hunter Plans Face Neighborhood Opposition

Hunter College President Jennifer Raab and her plan to build a high-rise science building where the Julia Richman Education Complex now stands on East 67th Street came under fierce fire from close to 300 community members on Wednesday evening at the Community Board 8 meeting. Residents expressed concern over Ms. Raab’s proposal to raze a community landmark, which has undergone $30 million in renovations paid for by the city, and construct a 17-story building in its place. The proposal would bring lab facilities to Hunter’s main campus and transfer Julia Richman students to a new building—paid for by Hunter—40 blocks south.Ultimately, Hunter will not need community approval to proceed with its proposal.

— Special to the Sun

POLICE BLOTTER

Man Allegedly Defrauds September 11 Fund

A New Jersey man has been arrested on charges that he defrauded a fund of more than a million dollars intended to help victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. A federal complaint alleges that Mario Mastellone lied when he told investigators that he hasn’t worked since the attacks and that he’s unable to work. The case is the largest ever against the victim’s fund, prosecutors say.

— Special to the Sun

Driver Arrested After Striking Woman

A private sanitation worker driving with a suspended license was arrested yesterday after he struck and injured a woman in Brooklyn, police said. Police said Charles Patterson, 40, was driving westbound on Broadway near Driggs Avenue in Williamsburg when he struck a woman crossing Broadway around 8 a.m. The victim, a woman in her 60s whose identity was not disclosed, was in critical condition. Mr. Patterson, of Paterson, N.J., was charged with operating with a suspended license, police said.

— Special to the Sun

Brooklyn Man Charged With Shooting at Police

A Brooklyn man was arrested after shooting at police and leading them on a foot chase Wednesday night, police said yesterday. The incident occurred around 9:45 p.m., police said, when two plainclothes officers on patrol in Flatbush observed a commotion inside a Land Rover parked on East 22nd Street near Flatbush Avenue. Police said when the officers approached the car, the suspect – 25-year-old Kevin Elie – ran away, then turned to shoot at the officers. The officers shot back, then chased Mr. Elie, who drove off in a Lincoln town car. Police said the officers apprehended him after he crashed on Cortelyou Road. Police said they believe Mr. Elie was trying to collect $5,000 in an insurance scam during the initial commotion.

— Special to the Sun

STATEWIDE

Clinton Agrees To Debate Opponent

Senator Clinton has agreed to appear in two face-to-face debates with her Republican opponent, John Spencer. The televised debates are on a Friday evening and early on a Sunday morning – times when TV viewership is among the lowest. The times will also prove tricky for the most religious voters, as Friday evening is the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath, while many others may be at church on Sunday. Mrs. Clinton’s campaign has agreed to no more than two debates. New York 1 will broadcast a debate from Rochester on October 20, and the second meeting will occur in New York at WABC studios on October 22.