CITYWIDE

Mayor, City Council To Unveil Tax Abatement Programs

Six weeks after Mayor Bloomberg announced his plan to overhaul the city’s 421-a property tax abatement program, a group of City Council members will introduce legislation to reform the 35-year-old system. The program was created in 1971 to spur residential development across the city. Mr. Bloomberg’s plan would restrict the tax breaks to developers whose projects are in most areas of Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn and Queens that are designating 20% of their residential units as “affordable housing.” The council proposal, led by Council Members Annabel Palma of the Bronx and David Yassky of Brooklyn, among others, would require developers to include more affordable housing to qualify for the program and have a lower income threshold, Crain’s New York Business reported. It would also expand the affordable housing requirement to developments in all areas of the city. The chairman of the council’s Finance Committee, David Weprin of Queens, predicted the administration and the council would work out a compromise.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

STATEWIDE

Clintons’ Slain Neighbor Remembered Yesterday

PLEASANTVILLE — A neighbor of Bill and Hillary Clinton was remembered by family and friends at a memorial yesterday, a week after she was shot in a mysterious roadside attack. Loved ones of Peggy Perez-Olivo, a teacher’s assistant, gathered at a funeral home. Mrs. Perez-Olivo, 55, was shot while driving home with her husband, a disbarred lawyer, on November 18 and died two days later. Her husband, Carlos Perez-Olivo, has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing in the attack, but police say his story of a roadside ambush sounds unusual. He tried to shove reporters outside a police station when they asked whether he had something to do with the attack. Police would not comment on a motive for the shootings, although New Castle Detective Sgt. Marc Simmons said investigators would look into some of Carlos Perez-Olivo’s former clients. Mr. Perez-Olivo was disbarred three months ago for refusing to return unearned funds to clients, and jurors have accused him of incompetence in defending a murder suspect. “There is a lot of other things that honestly I thought of and I can’t think of right now,” Mr. Perez-Olivo told the jury before his client was convicted and sentenced to 18 years to life in prison. A spokesman for the Clintons said they were saddened to hear of the death of their neighbor.

— Associated Press

POLICE BLOTTER

Three Die in Bronx Crash

Three people died and one person is in critical condition after a car overturned and burst into flames yesterday, police said. The accident occurred around 4:45 a.m. on Interstate 95 in the Bronx as the car was exiting the highway at East Gun Hill Road, police said. According to police, a black 1996 Honda Accord was traveling northbound on the highway when it struck a guardrail and then flipped over and burst into flames. Three people were pronounced dead at the scene. One person, whom police said was ejected from the car before it caught fire, was taken to Jacobi Hospital in critical condition. As of last night, police did not identify the victims due to severe burn injuries that prevented positive identification, police said.

— Special to the Sun

Three In Custody After Bronx Shooting

A 26-year-old man was in critical condition yesterday after being shot four times in the Bronx, police said. According to police, the shooting took place around 5 a.m. near West 174th Street and Montgomery Avenue in Morris Heights. The victim, who was not named, was shot twice in the arm, once in the leg, and once in the chest, police said. He was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital in critical condition. Last night, police said three men were taken into custody. Police did not disclose a motive in the shooting, and said an investigation is ongoing.

— Special to the Sun

TRISTATE

Study Endorses Ferry Between Fairfield County and Manhattan

STAMFORD, Conn.— A new study endorses the idea of launching a high-speed commuter ferry between Fairfield County and lower Manhattan, saying there is a viable market for the service. The study, in the works for two years, concludes that the service could be a quick, comfortable and affordable alternative to driving and could help take vehicles off congested Interstate 95. About 80% of commuters in the Stamford-Bridgeport area questioned in a survey for the study said they would consider using the high-speed ferry service if it were created, according to the review conducted for the Bridgeport Port Authority. The study proposes two ferry boats operating during morning and evening peak hours on weekdays, with the possibility of adding weekend service to bolster tourism. The service would include trips between Bridgeport and Stamford, and between Stamford and lower Manhattan. Advocates believe it could attract Connecticut residents who commute to the financial districts of lower Manhattan, but who want to avoid the hassle of changing trains in New York City. “It’s a quicker ride than driving and only a little slower than rail,” Joseph Riccio, executive director of the Bridgeport Port Authority, said. “There will be no overbooking like there is on a train, so no one will be uncomfortably crowded.” The proposal already has won millions of dollars in promised federal grants if ferry service is launched, although Stamford has not yet determined where its ferry launch site would be built. The service would serve about 600 to 700 people a day initially, Mr. Riccio said.

— Associated Press