CITYWIDE

Police and Nightlife Industry Plan Meetings

The Police Department and representatives of the city’s nightlife industry have agreed to meet regularly to hammer out longstanding differences over the enforcement of state liquor laws. But one of the chief demands of the industry — the ability to hire off-duty police officers as security guards — won’t be on the table, the City Council speaker, Christine Quinn, said yesterday. Ms. Quinn said the Police Department’s steadfast opposition stood in the way.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

Verizon Outage Crimps Lower Manhattan

The Police Department deployed extra resources in Lower Manhattan yesterday afternoon after an outage involving Verizon phone and data lines, officials said. Additional squad cars were stationed in areas of Lower Manhattan with their lights flashing in case anyone had difficulty reaching emergency services during the outage, a police spokesman, Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, said. No criminal incidents related to the outages were reported as of yesterday evening, he said. The disruption began about 3 p.m., when a piece of call-processing software failed, a Verizon spokesman, John Bonomo, said. The system was reset and by 5 p.m. most services were restored, he said.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

Phone Company To Test Service From Taxi Trunks

Ericsson Mobile, a cellular phone service provider, will be renting space in as many as 50 taxi trunks, where its data collection devices, including mobile phones and GPS devices, will test service range throughout the city. Individual taxi medallion owners will sign monthly hosting agreements with Ericsson. The mobile test unit will power up when the car starts and then place continuous phone calls while the cab is in transit. The GPS device will record the location and reception quality. Taxis are suited for the task because of their circulation to all parts of the city, an Ericsson spokesman said.

— Special to the Sun

IN THE COURTS

Insurer Seeks Damages In Bartha Explosion Case

An insurance company for a building that was damaged when a man blew up his townhouse in July is asking a court to order the man’s family and the local utility company to pay its expenses. The New Hampshire Insurance Co., which represents the Links Club, a private country club that neighbored Bartha’s townhouse, filed legal papers this week in Manhattan Supreme Court, seeking at least $500,000 on the ground that the defendants, including Consolidated Edison, didn’t prevent the catastrophe. Dr. Nicholas Bartha, a physician, destroyed his multimilliondollar townhouse on East 62nd Street after a bitter divorce.

— Special to the Sun