POLICE BLOTTER

Agents Seize Manhattan-Bound Cocaine

Drug agents in New Jersey have seized 1,045 pounds of Manhattanbound cocaine valued at $42 million and arrested six men on narcotics trafficking charges. Police from New York and New Jersey and federal agents found the cocaine in hidden compartments in a 42-foot, 18-wheel tractortrailer truck parked next to a warehouse in Hackensack, N.J., authorities said yesterday. A special narcotics prosecutor, Bridget Brennan, said the shipment, destined for New York City distribution, was the largest cocaine seizure this year.

— Associated Press

Fisherman Caught With Banned Fish

A commercial fisherman was arraigned two days ago, after being caught with about 1,000 pounds of illegal striped bass, fluke, and Atlantic sturgeon in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. The fisherman, Francis Sabatino of Brooklyn, was charged with one count of illegal commercialization of fish, a felony, one count of taking striped bass for commercial purposes without a permit, and two counts of unlawful possession of Atlantic sturgeon. If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison.

— Special to the Sun

CITYWIDE

Navy Yard Accused Of Mismanagement

The Brooklyn Navy Yard maintains faulty records, a flawed leasing system, and it has withheld more than $2 million owed to the city, an audit by City Comptroller William Thompson Jr. has found. Mr. Thompson also accused the Bloomberg administration of trying “to simply sweep a problem of this magnitude under the rug.” The administration, which oversees the yard’s corporate activities, said many of the recommendations have already been put into place. “This audit doesn’t acknowledge the fact that by any measure, the Brooklyn Navy Yard is an overwhelming success,” the commissioner of the city’s Department of Small Business Services, Robert Walsh, said in a statement.

— Special to the Sun

Bloomberg Backs Housing Reforms

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday backed a plan negotiated with the City Council speaker, Christine Quinn, that would expand the geographic area where developers must include a percentage of “affordable housing” to receive a tax break beyond what had been proposed by the Bloomberg administration. The plan would keep the ratio of affordable units required at 20%. An alternate council proposal would allow no development citywide to receive the tax break unless the developer made 30% of all the apartments “affordable.” Members of the real estate industry have said that putting too many restrictions on the tax break will curb the city’s building boom. Affordable housing advocates say that no developer should receive a tax break without creating affordable units.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

Health Board Amends Leash Law

The city’s Board of Health yesterday amended its “Leash Law,” allowing park officials to formalize their longstanding policy of courtesy hours, during which dogs can be unleashed between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. The city’s health code had required dogs to be leashed in all public spaces.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

STATEWIDE

Spitzer Gives Bonuses To Campaign Staff

It’s payback time for the campaign staff of Governor-elect Spitzer, with select staffers sharing in $1.3 million in bonuses. Mr. Spitzer’s longtime senior adviser, Rich Baum, received $200,000 and campaign spokeswoman Christine Anderson received $100,000, according to state campaign finance filings. Each will have prominent roles in the Spitzer administration.

— Associated Press