
##3000250 <p> There was bad blood between Bill Belichick , the Cleveland Browns ' head coach , and Bernie Kosar , their long-time quarterback , and the Browns solved it yesterday . In a stunning move , they released Kosar . <p> The decision was ultimately made by Art Modell , the Browns ' owner , and it was especially difficult because his two favorite people seemed to be his coach and his quarterback . But there was friction because Belichick believed Kosar was not the player he once was and had benched him once this year , and Kosar believed Belichick 's offense was too limited . Something had to give , and it turned out be be Kosar . <p> Only five weeks ago , Kosar agreed to a seven-year , $26 million contract extension . But it was not guaranteed , so the new collective-bargaining agreement requires the Browns to give Kosar only $20,000 in termination pay . When he retires , he will receive $100,000 in severance pay . <p> The Browns placed him on waivers , which means any other team can claim him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ must assume his present Browns ' contract , more than $2 million this year . If Kosar rejects the team that claims him , or if no one claims him , he will become a free agent . He could then sign with any team at any agreed-upon figure . In 9th Season <p> With Kosar gone and Vinny Testaverde sidelined with a shoulder separation , the Browns ' quarterback will be Todd Philcox , who has started only one game in his four pro seasons . The backup is Brad Goebel , signed only two weeks ago . The Browns plan to sign a third quarterback this week . <p> Kosar will become 30 years old Nov. 25 . This was his ninth season with the Browns , who chose him in the first round of a 1985 supplemental draft after he had graduated early from the University of Miami . <p> He became the Browns ' starter after four games of his rookie season and started 105 of the 108 games he played for them . His career statistics show that he completed 1,853 of 3,150 passes for 21,904 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ led the Browns to the playoffs in his first five seasons , and in three of those seasons ( 1986 , 1987 and 1989 ) he led them to the American Conference final , losing every time to Denver . <p> Kosar started the first five games this season , but Testaverde relieved him in three of them and won the starting job for two games . Then Testaverde was hurt , and Kosar started again Sunday in the Browns ' 29-14 loss to the Broncos . He completed 16 of 30 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns without an interception but was sacked six times . <p> Although hardly mobile , Kosar prefers a more aggressive offense with more deep passes . He wants to be allowed to change plays more often at the line of scrimmage . Belichick likes a conservative offense that emphasizes running and play-action passes , which is better suited for a quarterback with Testaverde 's mobility . <p> Belichick and Kosar met last week in an attempt to work out their differences . It apparently did n't happen . <p> " I think it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said . " It impacted negatively on the team . " <p> " It was unanimous that we should go in a different direction , " Modell said . " It was a painful experience for Bernie and myself . I ca n't say enough about Bernie Kosar . He has been like a son to me . " <p> The team seemed stunned . " You take the chief away from the Indians , and what happens to the Indians ? " said offensive lineman Tony Jones . " He was definitely our leader . " <p> Belichick spoke cautiously . <p> " We 've all seen him play , " the coach said . " I 'm not going to bad-mouth and bash Bernie . He 's done too much for this organization . " <p> It is an organization Belichick has revamped . Of the 52 players on the roster when he was hired in 1991 , only 11 remain . <p> " I 've known for a while that I do n't really fit into their plans , " said Kosar . " Bill has his way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way they 've been getting rid of the players who were here before he got here . " <p> What next for Kosar ? Because of injuries or ineffective quarterbacking , there may be interest from such teams as the Philadelphia Eagles , the New England Patriots , the Phoenix Cardinals , the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins . <p> Scott Secules of the Patriots suffered a separated left ( nonpassing ) shoulder Sunday , but Coach Bill Parcells said he would probably not look for another quarterback now . Eagles Coach Rich Kotite , surprised that Kosar was available , said , " We will see where we are and go from there . " Aikman Injury Not Serious <p> The Dallas Cowboys reported yesterday that quarterback Troy Aikman 's strained left hamstring did not appear to be a long-term problem . Coach Jimmy Johnson said Aikman would be listed as doubtful for Sunday 's game against the Phoenix Cardinals and said his condition would be reassessed daily . <p> Aikman was hurt during Sunday 's 31-9 rout of the Giants and was replaced by Jason Garrett . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is some bleeding , " Aikman said , " but doctors do n't believe it 's tearing . Nothing has been ruled out , but you 'd have to be optimistic to say I 'll play this week . " An Illegal Block <p> The Tampa Bay Buccaneers say a pushing incident Sunday between a player and a female reporter was less than it might appear . The reporter and her editor disagreed . <p> The incident happened when Michelle Kaufman , a sportswriter for The Detroit Free Press , was interviewing linebacker Hardy Nickerson of the Bucs after their 23-0 loss to the Detroit Lions in Pontiac , Mich . Kaufman said Jimmy Williams , another linebacker , shoved her . <p> " He said , ' You do n't belong here , ' " Kaufman said . " I took it to mean it was because I was a woman . He never said ' woman , ' but I understood it . I told him I was only doing my job . " <p> Williams said yesterday that he had politely nudged the reporter so he could pick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with family members , who live in Detroit , before the team bus departed for the airport . <p> He said he " did nothing to intimidate " and that " it was n't a matter of her being a woman or whether I was dressed . I was fully dressed and she was doing her job . " <p> Williams apologized before leaving the locker room . <p> Gene Myers , the sports editor of The Free Press , said he was sending a letter to the National Football League . He said the league would be asked to take action " because we thought Williams 's behavior was unacceptable . " <p> Greg Aiello , the N.F.L. 's director of communications , said the league was investigating the matter . 
##3000251 <p> To say that the Jets have a disdain for history would be incorrect . They have a healthy respect for history : their own . <p> It was almost 25 years ago that Don Shula went for his first monumental victory against the Jets in Super Bowl III . The Jets slammed the door on him then with a 16-7 victory . This afternoon Shula entered Giants Stadium against the Jets with another important milestone within reach : his 325th victory to pass the Chicago Bears ' George Halas as the winningest coach in National Football League history . Again , the Jets emphatically denied Shula . After jumping to a 20-3 third-quarter lead , they held on for a 27-10 victory before 71,306 fans . <p> " We had a lot of internal motivation , for lack of a better word , " said Jets Coach Bruce Coslet . " The guys were n't going to allow them to get into the game . " <p> The Jets ( 4-4 ) had no desire to be party to Shula 's march into the record book . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the American Football Conference 's Eastern Division leader . <p> " It was better to ruin his day than have him ruin our season , " said Jets linebacker Marvin Jones . <p> Last week Jets players learned that A.T . &T.; planned to film part of a commercial about Shula , showing the coach walking off the field after his record-breaking victory . The Jets issued five credentials to A.T . &T.; to film the commercial . Another group planned to shoot a Shula highlight film featuring congratulatory calls from the six living United States Presidents who have been in office since Shula started coaching in 1963 . <p> Some Jets thought it showed a total lack of respect for anyone to be so presumptuous about a game to be played on their home field , particularly given New York 's recent history against the Dolphins . <p> Entering this afternoon 's game the Jets had won four of the last five games between the teams , and they had handed the Dolphins their lone loss of the season . Now , the Jets have won seven of their last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't want anyone taking us for granted , like we 're just not even there and they can walk all over us , " said Jets receiver Rob Moore . " We did a great job of acquitting ourselves and upholding our integrity . " Jets Do It Again <p> Actually , the Jets did more than that . For the second time this season they took the Dolphins ( 6-2 ) completely out of their game . On offense , the Jets ' game plan was to play keep-away and wear down the Dolphins with a short passing game and a pounding running game . <p> On defense , the Jets wanted to put pressure on Miami quarterback Scott Mitchell , forcing him into third-and-long situations and taking away his ability to throw deep strikes . Both plans came together for the Jets . There was one breakdown late in the third quarter when free safety Ronnie Lott guessed wrong and Miami 's Irving Fryar got behind the Jets ' coverage for a 65-yard touchdown reception . <p> The Jets ' defense , however , suffered a costlier blow . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cheekbone after colliding with a teammate , strong safety Brian Washington , in the second quarter . Hasty tried to return to the game , but left after a couple of plays . He was admitted to Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan tonight . His availability for next week 's game at Indianapolis was not immediately clear . <p> Most of the Dolphins players were steamed that they let the Jets beat them again . <p> " Last time they beat us with big plays , " said Miami defensive end Jeff Cross . " This time it was little plays . " Short Passes , Long Drives <p> Cross was right . The last time he played against the Dolphins , Jets quarterback Boomer Esiason threw for 323 yards and 2 touchdowns , completing passes of 51 , 46 , 31 and 20 yards in the Jets ' 24-14 victory . Receiver Rob Moore had 6 catches for 124 yards . <p> This afternoon , Esiason was 23 for 32 for 256 yards , with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions . His longest pass was 27 yards on a short @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who broke a number of tackles to turn it into a long gain . <p> It was the second week in a row that Esiason , operating behind great protection from the offensive line , put together a clean , efficient performance to lead the Jets to victory . It also did n't hurt that the ball bounced right for the Jets . Though they had six fumbles , they only lost one : on a reverse by receiver Terance Mathis in the second quarter . It did n't hurt because the Dolphins could n't convert . <p> Johnson was a workhorse for the Jets . He caught 7 passes for 85 yards and had 12 carries for 24 yards . Fullback Brad Baxter had 19 carries for the second week in a row and Moore became something of a possession receiver , catching 7 passes for 82 yards . The Jets had three scoring drives that went 9 plays for 81 yards , 11 plays for 83 yards and 13 plays for 70 yards . <p> An indication that the Jets ' offense may finally have learned a lesson about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ following Fryar 's touchdown that gave the Jets an uneasy 20-10 early in the fourth quarter . <p> Esiason then guided the Jets on a 13-play , 70-yard drive that ate up 7 minutes 40 seconds , and capped it with a 12-yard touchdown pass to receiver Chris Burkett . The Jets converted four third downs on the drive . They were 8 for 14 on third-down conversions on the day . The touchdown made it 27-10 and insured that there would be no cliffhanger for the Jets ' defense . <p> The defense did its work early to insure that it would n't have to dig its way out of a hole late in the game . The Jets wanted to see how Mitchell would perform if the heat was turned up full blast . So , they applied pressure on him early . <p> Since taking over for Dan Marino , who is out for the season with a torn Achilles ' tendon , Mitchell has been superb . Coming into today 's game he had thrown six touchdown passes and one interception and had helped guide the Dolphins @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cleveland in which he replaced Marino in the second quarter . <p> Today , defensive end Marvin Washington tipped a pass by Mitchell on the Dolphins ' first possession and the ball was intercepted by safety Lonnie Young . Later in the second quarter , Washington got another tipped pass on a third-and-19 at the Miami 33 that floated high in the air and was caught for a 1-yard gain by Dolphins running back Terry Kirby . The early pressure rattled Mitchell . <p> " It put a little bit of doubt in his mind as to how much time he was going to have in the pocket , " said Jets defensive end Jeff Lageman . " We put pretty good heat on him in the first quarter and after that he was kind of dancing around a little bit . With a young quarterback he 's going to be dancing around if he feels that heat in the first couple of series . The importance of getting off to a good start early was to discourage him . " 
##3000252 <p> The Dallas Cowboys were leading the Giants by 24-6 , when Jimmy Johnson , not one to sit on a lead , had his offense run a wide-receiver option . It went from the quarterback to Alvin Harper to Michael Irvin for 46 yards . That 's how good the Cowboys are -- their wide receivers are throwing deep . So , of course , people will talk about how the Cowboys were trying to run up the score . But what 's the most talented team in football supposed to do when it 's up big ? Go catch a movie ? <p> The Giants ran into a team today that said it was on a mission . The battle for the National Conference East lead turned out to be a rout , as the Cowboys dominated the Giants in every phase of the game , hammering them , 31-9 , before 64,735 at Texas Stadium . <p> No question about it -- with the thrashing of a division rival that was considered to be their best competition , the defending Super Bowl champions began clearing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . <p> " Without a doubt we were going against the best team in football , " said linebacker Carlton Bailey of the Giants , who are now 6-2 . " They came out , executed , and beat us like a drum . " <p> After today 's game some of the Cowboys players said they were inspired by comments made by the Giants ' players in the week leading to the game , especially linebacker Corey Miller , who said Dallas 's defense was n't as good as it was last year and that the Cowboys were beatable , and safety Greg Jackson , who after the Jets game last week remarked how angry the Giants were because of the loss and how sorry he felt for the next team the Giants would play . <p> " The way I felt about it , " said Dallas offensive lineman Nate Newton , " it was like we were a challenge to them . It was like they won the Super Bowl last year . It was all there : ' We are a beatable team . They pity the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sold us out . We 've always respected the Giants , but they needed to be put in their place . " <p> And the Cowboys did just that . <p> The Giants , now 5-3 , have n't looked this bad all season . Part of it was because the Cowboys are so good ; part of it was because of the same kind of blunders that have plagued them the last several weeks . <p> It also did n't help that Rodney Hampton was n't on the field because of soreness in his ankle , although he was expected to play . And then there was the strained lower back suffered by cornerback Mark Collins after colliding with Jackson while both were chasing running back Emmitt Smith , a common sight today . Collins is fine now -- although he will probably miss a couple of games -- but there was a major scare as he was carted off the field . Television replays showed his neck snapping back violently , and the Giants ' medical staff immobilized him as a precaution . <p> " He was laying there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ echoed fears of his fellow teammates that Collins had been paralyzed . " It could have been a serious injury . " Smith Runs for 117 Yards <p> That 's the kind of day it was for the Giants -- everything went wrong . Smith rushed 24 times for 117 yards and scored two touchdowns . Harper had two touchdown catches and had the best pass of the day with that left-handed toss to Irvin . The Giant defense , ranked third in the league before last week , gave up big play after big play . One of Harper 's touchdowns was on a post pattern in which he just ran by Collins . The other touchdown was due simply to a breakdown in the secondary . Cornerback Perry Williams bumped Harper and then let him go -- the only problem was no one picked him up . <p> " There were n't any surprises , " said Jackson . " It was just a case of breakdowns . " Giving Up Big Plays <p> Breakdowns everywhere . Even on special teams , as the Giants gave up two plays @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there , Dallas enjoyed great field position for most of the day . <p> Quarterback Troy Aikman was near flawless , going 11 of 13 for 162 yards and 2 touchdowns before leaving the game early in the second half with a strained left hamstring . He probably will sit out the Cowboys ' next couple of games . He was replaced by Jason Garrett , who has been to Canada and the World League . But it did n't matter . When Aikman left , Johnson did the smart thing -- he let Smith carry the team home . <p> But the Giants did as much to themselves as the Cowboys did . The coaching staff will have to go back to the drawing board to try to figure out why the offense has gone A.W.O.L. The Giants got just three field goals today and have n't scored a touchdown since the 10-minute mark in the fourth quarter of the Philadelphia game on Oct. 17 . The last time the Giants went without a touchdown in back-to-back games was 1983 . <p> The Cowboys blitzed more than normal , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ picking them up . Quarterback Phil Simms was hammered all afternoon as he was sacked three times , had six hurries and was knocked down seven times . Rather than risk losing him , Reeves took him out as the game got out of reach . And when backup Kent Graham came in , he was hammered as well . In all , the Cowboys had five sacks . <p> The Giants still do n't seem to have found a way to consistently get the ball deep downfield . And when they do , there inevitably is some sort of mistake . When Simms connected on an apparent 7-yard touchdown to Mark Jackson early in the game that would have cut the score to 10-7 , guard Bob Kratch was called for holding and the play came back . The Giants were forced to settle for a 21-yard David Treadwell field goal . It was almost the exact same thing that happened last week against the Jets , only William Roberts was called for holding then . <p> After Harper 's 50-yard grab , the Giants still had a chance to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deep for a 47-yard pass . Calloway easily had 5 yards on the closest Dallas defender and was headed for the end zone , but for some mysterious reason slowed down and then ran right into cornerback Kevin Smith , whom he said he did n't see . The Giants had the ball at the Dallas 28 , but on the next play a botched fleaflicker from Lewis Tillman back to Simms pretty much ended that drive . <p> The Giants continue to talk about how the loss of Mike Sherrard , who fractured his hip , hurts the offense . And that is true . But Sherrard has nothing to do with the mistakes the Giants are making . And he is almost becoming a convenient excuse . <p> " You ca n't keep going out and making the same mistakes over and over again and expect to win , " said George Henshaw , Giants ' offensive coordinator . " Especially against Dallas . You combine a great defense with our self-destruction , it makes for a long afternoon . We would certainly like to have Mike , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " <p> And if the Giants keep making them , the second half of the season will seem like an eternity . 
##3000253 <p> Boxing 's wonderfully tangled history added one of its most bizarre chapters on Saturday when , in one night , a dethroned heavyweight champion regained his title while an uninvited spectator sailed out of the sky to disrupt the savage bout . <p> Except for bumps and bruises , virtually everyone involved was all right today . Among them were the paraglider ; the newly deposed heavyweight champion 's pregnant wife ; his 82-year-old trainer , Eddie Futch , who is hospitalized , and the Rev. Jesse Jackson . <p> The fighters ? They had swollen heads from hitting each other . <p> On the fistic front , Evander Holyfield , a man who has earned more than $90 million in the ring , won back the crown he had lost a year ago to the favored bigger , younger Riddick Bowe with a 12-round majority decision -- two judges voted for Holyfield while one called it a draw . <p> It was a battle of rage and revenge , two warriors fighting after the bell , often bringing the fans out of their seats . There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . <p> They pummeled each other after the end of the fourth round for at least 10 seconds , and even when the final bell gonged , they were slugging . Holfyield 's trainer , Emanuel Steward , jumped into the ring to protect his fighter , in the process accidentally knocking him down as they fell in a heap under the ropes . <p> On a night like this , that hardly ranked as a major incident . <p> In Round 7 , Bowe -- who had been cut over his left eyebrow in the fifth round and was to require six stitches -- appeared to be bouncing back from poundings that had stifled his aggressiveness and disrupted his timing . <p> And then the man in the orange jumpsuit appeared out of the night desert sky . <p> The Las Vegas police identified him as James Miller , 30 years old . A local sky-diving expert , Tom Cannarozzo , said that Miller runs the British School for Paragliding in Gean , a town 40 miles south of here . A man who answered a phone call to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there via fax . <p> A woman who answered the phone today at Miller 's apartment complex in Henderson , a Las Vegas suburb , said , " If you have any questions , you 'll have to fax them to him . " The fax number she gave was for the company in Gean . No Answer <p> There was no immediate response from Miller to a fax . <p> Miller descended in a motorized paraglider , a device that customarily takes off from the ground . The operator needs only four or five steps before gaining altitude . <p> Miller was hospitalized briefly and arrested . He was released on $200 bail at 2:28 this morning , charged with the misdemeanor " dangerous flying . " <p> " That 's the first time I 've ever seen the charge used , " said Sgt. Ron Pearce of the Las Vegas police . <p> " They should have got him for attempted murder , " said Dan Duva , Holyfield 's promoter . <p> With 1 minute 2 seconds gone in Round 7 . Holyfield looked over Bowe 's shoulder @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . <p> " All I could think of was that girl who got stabbed playing tennis , " Holyfield recalled today , speaking of Monica Seles , who was attacked by a spectator during a match in Germany earlier this year . <p> The man had been aloft for at least 25 minutes . A complaint had been filed with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department since he was sailing in unauthorized air space , not far from McCarran International Airport . <p> Suddenly , he headed for the ring , which was set up under a canopy ringed with bright floodlights . There were more than 14,300 spectators in the closely packed arena . On the Ropes <p> Miller had cleared all the spectators and almost made a spectacular ring landing when the top of his chute-like device got tangled in a bank of lights . His feet hooked into the ring ropes and he dangled for a few seconds until he was pulled away by several spectators . <p> " I 'm the fan man , the man with the fan , " he said after landing at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who ran over to Miller as he was hauled into the seats was Rock Newman , Bowe 's manager . <p> " I thought it was an assassination attempt on Farrakhan , " Newman said today . Louis Farrakhan , the controversial head of the Nation of Islam , was among Newman 's guests . <p> While one of Bowe 's bodyguards began clubbing Miller over the head with a two-way radio , the Rev. Jackson , seated at ringside , tried to untangle himself and Bowe 's wife , Judy . <p> " The fan was drawing my arm into the motor , " Jackson said , " and it was difficult to get it untangled . " <p> Jackson was on hand to help promote awareness of nonviolence in the cities . <p> " It is ironic , " he said later . <p> Jackson explained that when the apparatus landed , " It got my shoulder tangled and it wrapped itself around me and Judy Bowe . " He helped her pull off the cords . She was faint and he and several other people led her to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a hospital , where Bowe joined her about an hour after the fight . A sonogram did not reveal any injury to her or the fetus and she returned to the hotel with her husband at about 3 A.M. 21-Minute Delay <p> Meanwhile , the delay at ringside consumed 21 minutes , while the fighters stood in their corners , wrapped in heavy robes and towels to keep warm in the 50-degree weather . <p> Jackson said : " I went over to Riddick and told him : ' Your wife is O.K. Focus on what you have to do now . ' " <p> Bowe admitted today that when he saw his wife being led away by paramedics , " I wanted to leave and be with her , but I did n't want people to think I was a quitter . " <p> That was his reputation as a sparring partner of Holyfield 's , and it was his trademark when he captured the silver medal in the 1988 Olympics . But he mixed it up Saturday night , although unable to sustain an offensive . <p> That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Holyfield would get his jab into Bowe 's face , then suddenly retreat . The smaller man would also mix it up inside , whipping in two or three body punches and getting out . There were also times when Holyfield slugged with Bowe , but he did it less often than last November , when he got caught in a brawl with Bowe . Holyfield had resolved to be smarter this time , and he was . Lost All 3 Crowns <p> A year ago , Holyfield lost all three major heavyweight crowns : the World Boxing Association , the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Council crowns . In the interim , Bowe ceded his W.B.C. title to Lennox Lewis of England . <p> At fight 's end , Futch also was hospitalized because of an irregular heartbeat . <p> It was difficult for the bout itself -- an intense brawl -- to be overshadowed . <p> When it resumed , Holyfield was energized . He easily captured the rest of the round . If Bowe was to win the fight by knockout , he would have only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 246 pounds against the 217-pound Holyfield . Eight weeks ago , Bowe weighed 288 pounds . <p> Bowe said today that the weight had indeed affected him negatively . <p> " It 's not a good thing to get that heavy , " he said . " I 'll take it as a learning experience . I 'll take a week off now and start training . " <p> The 26-year-old Bowe suffered his first loss , his record falling to 34-1 with 29 knockouts . The 31-year-old Holyfield avenged his only loss as he captured his 30th decision . He has knocked out 22 opponents . <p> With the victory , Holyfield matched the feat of Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali as the only dethroned heavyweight champions who regained the title by defeating the man who had taken it away . Patterson did it with a 1960 knockout over Ingemar Johansson and Ali won a decision from Leon Spinks in 1978. 
##3001250 <p> Despite sharp opposition from business , New Jersey last year increased its minimum wage to $5.05 an hour , the second highest in the nation and a level well above those in nearby states . <p> The increase in April 1992 , from $4.25 an hour , came amid a slump in the state 's economy , and at a time when employers were already under financial pressure and often unable to pass added labor costs on to customers in the form of higher prices . <p> Now , with New Jersey 's unemployment rate at 9.1 percent , the highest of all the leading industrial states , the steeper minimum wage would seem a natural suspect in explaining why so many workers can not find jobs . <p> But a new study by two labor economists at Princeton University on the effect of the higher minimum wage on employment in the state 's fast-food restaurants -- one of the major employers of young workers who earn the minimum wage -- suggests that it has not been a significant deterrent to hiring . <p> " This is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ matter , " Prof. Alan B. Krueger , an author of the study said . " But it did n't seem to have an effect in the fast-food industry and , besides , the industries that are really hurting in New Jersey are high paying ones like pharmaceuticals . " <p> Data from New Jersey 's farms , another big employer of low-wage workers , suggests the same . Even though seasonal hiring dropped right after the increase took effect , it fell less than in neighboring Delaware , where the minimum wage stayed put . <p> Whether the New Jersey law has cost jobs has political implications . South Jersey farmers and their legislative representatives are negotiating with Gov . Jim Florio for $12 million worth of concessions on a wide range of taxes and fees to compensate them for the higher minimum wage . Mr. Florio is running for re-election this year . <p> Washington is also watching New Jersey 's experience with the higher minimum wage as the Clinton Administration tries to decide how hard to lean on employers as a route for delivering benefits to working Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commerce , is $4.25 , and Federal law establishes that as a floor nationally . Individual states are free to set theirs higher . Conventional Notions Upset <p> Decades of research suggests that raising the minimum wage gives workers at the bottom of the ladder a better shot at supporting themselves , but discourages employers from hiring . The Princeton economists were surprised when their wide survey in the fast-food industry did not conform to their expectations . <p> " Nobody knew until the last minute that this law would go into effect , which means that it should have had a bigger impact because employers could n't digest it in advance , " Professor Krueger said . " Also relevant was that New Jersey deep recession . So we really expected to find effects ; we suspected it would show the opposite . " <p> He and the other researchers caution that this study , in itself , should not be seen as a blanket rationale for raising minimum wages nationwide . Most economists favor helping the working poor through tax credits rather than imposing new regulations on businesses , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . <p> But they and others say that the New Jersey findings , besides being striking per se , track recent findings of the effect of an increase in the Federal minimum wage in other states including California , Texas , Mississippi and North Carolina . <p> The Princeton team interviewed managers at 410 Wendy 's , Burger King , KFC and Roy Rogers outlets two months before and nine months after the April 1992 increase . They reasoned that if effects were to show up , they would first appear in the fast-food industry because such places rely more heavily than other retailers on low-paid workers . They compared before and after results of New Jersey restaurants with a control group of Pennsylvania restaurants . <p> " The fast-food industry has the highest proportion of minimum-wage workers and has , on average , the youngest workers , " said David Card , the study 's other author . " If the minimum wage had a big negative effect , that 's where you 'd expect to see it . " <p> The researchers had expected that the increase would prompt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remaining to work harder , and substitute machines for new hiring where possible . <p> Instead , the restaurants added 2.5 workers per store , on average . To be sure , a large minority of the New Jersey restaurants trimmed the number of workers , but the majority added some . There was no sign that employers cut fringe benefits like free or bargain meals , nor was there evidence that they canceled scheduled raises . <p> With the Pennsylvania control group , the average number of workers per restaurant edged down roughly 2 percent , despite the fact that the minimum wage there had not changed . <p> " The higher minimum wage is n't the factor that 's pushed many restaurants that did go out of business in the past couple of years , " said Larry Fidel of the New Jersey Restaurant Association . An Unhappy Employer 's View <p> Not everyone agrees , though , that the increase has n't had the anticipated negative effects . <p> " The creeping socialism begins at the $5.05 level , " said Eric Mund , general manager of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New Jersey . Mr. Mund says that the higher minimum caused him to cut back hours and to stint on service a bit . " Unfortunately , people have to wait longer and that does n't make me happy . " <p> And Richard Berman at the Employment Policies Institute , a Washington-based business group , said : " You see a lot of stories that the economy is coming back but jobs are n't . Mandated benefits and high labor costs are at the heart of that . Employers are trying to find ways to deliver services and products with fewer workers . " <p> But employment trends in New Jersey do seem to illustrate the absence of a broad deterrent to hiring from a higher minimum wage . The employment rate among adults -- those 20 and older -- declined in the nine months after the higher minimum was imposed , but no more than in New York . <p> Of course , adults were potentially less vulnerable than teen-age workers since only 5 percent of the adults questioned in New Jersey earned less than the new minimum wage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ level . <p> Nonetheless , even among teen-agers , employment rates in the nine-month period -- April through December -- actually fell less in New Jersey in than in nearby states -- by only 0.7 percent , compared to more than 2.5 percent in New York , Pennsylvania and Connecticut . <p> Conventional economic models suggest that the effect of raising the minimum wage by 18.8 percent should have been a decline of 2 percent to 5 percent in teen-agers ' employment . <p> Some economists , including the researchers who conducted the New Jersey study , caution against using the New Jersey results as a policy guide , even if confirmed by further studies . New Jersey has long been one of highest wage states in the United States , and a smaller proportion of both teen-agers and adults were being paid below the new minimum than in most other states . Study 's Potential for Error <p> The study did not rule out the possibility that some other unidentified factors might have influenced the hiring in New Jersey and in Pennsylvania . It could turn out , for example @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Pennsylvania because , say , New Jersey was less saturated with such establishments , and was catching up through expansion . <p> " They have n't accounted for differences in the labor markets , " said James Heckman , a labor economist at the University of Chicago . " That could make a big difference . " <p> A separate study by Professor Card showed that teen-agers ' employment in California did not fall , relative to similar employment in a number of Southwestern states , despite California 's higher minimum wage . <p> But a study by Lowell Taylor , an economist at Carnegie-Mellon Univeristy of Pittsburgh , suggests that were it not for the higher minimum wage , jobs for California youths would have increased more , in comparison with the other states . <p> And there is the further question of how typical fast-food stores are of the larger world of retailing . <p> Whatever the limitations of the fast-food industry study , data from New Jersey agriculture seem to point in the same direction . Farmer Prefers Long Days <p> Farmers have complained that the higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ third-generation grower , John Rigolizzo , for example , says that 10 of his South Jersey neighbors are not farming this year , and attributes this to the minimum-wage increase . He said that was also why he and his father had hired fewer hands and were working 15-hour days . <p> The number of paid agricultural workers in New Jersey was 6 percent lower in June 1992 , after the new law was enacted , than a year earlier , according to the state unemployment insurance office . <p> But in Delaware , where , like New Jersey , farmers grow everything from peaches to pumpkins , agricultural jobs fell by a much larger 17 percent last summer , despite the fact that the minimum wage there did not budge . 
##3001251 <p> Six months before the mayoral election , black New Yorkers continue to express overwhelming approval of Mayor David N. Dinkins 's stewardship of the city , while whites overwhelmingly disapprove , according to the latest New York Times/WCBS-TV poll . <p> In the meantime , his support among Hispanic New Yorkers has faded so much that they are now evenly divided in their views of him and are shaping up as a crucial swing vote , according to the poll . <p> By contrast , a preponderance of New Yorkers of all ethnic and racial groups say they believe conditions in the city are worse than they were four years ago and will become still worse over the next 10 to 15 years , with blacks only slightly less pessimistic . Residents cite crime as the problem that they most want the next mayor to focus on , followed by the economy , unemployment , homelessness and race relations -- and Mr. Dinkins 's handling of each prompted lukewarm-to-negative ratings , except race relations . <p> Mr. Dinkins remains the strong favorite in the Sept. 14 Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Andrew J. Stein , by more than 30 percentage points among registered Democrats . Strength in the Boroughs <p> But if the general election were held today rather than on Nov. 2 , the survey showed it would be a tossup between Mr. Dinkins and his Republican-Liberal challenger , Rudolph W. Giuliani , with 45 percent of registered voters backing Mr. Dinkins and 44 percent favoring Mr. Giuliani . Mr. Giuliani leads in Queens and Staten Island -- the two boroughs he carried in 1989 , when he lost to Mr. Dinkins by 2 points citywide -- but now his margin over Mr. Dinkins in Queens is about half what it was then . But he shows surprising new strength in Brooklyn , which is the city 's most populous borough and the one with the largest black population . <p> The telephone poll of 1,273 adult city residents was conducted May 10 to 14 by The Times and Channel 2 News and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points . <p> Like all polls , the survey is just a snapshot . Mr. Giuliani @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , has not yet faced daily scrutiny in his campaign and could easily stumble . The Mayor is an incumbent , burdened by all the vicissitudes of three and a half years of governing , and is equipped with powerful advantages in fund-raising and access to the media , and events beyond the control of either could sharply redefine the race overnight . <p> Yet the survey revealed many troubling signs for the Mayor . While New Yorkers overall are split over the way Mr. Dinkins is handling his job -- with 41 percent approving and 42 percent disapproving -- there is deep cleavage along racial lines . Just 28 percent of whites approve of his performance in office , while 57 percent disapprove . Among blacks , 71 percent approve , while just 15 percent disapprove -- a 43-point gap between the races . Hispanic Voters Split <p> But by every measure , Hispanic New Yorkers are narrowly divided in their judgments of the Mayor , with 40 percent approving his job performance compared with a statistically indistinguishable 36 percent disapproving . Thirty-two percent called his term a success , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 35 percent hold a generally favorable view of him while 32 percent have an unfavorable opinion . <p> In a matchup with Mr. Giuliani , Hispanic voters split their support exactly like the electorate as a whole , with 45 percent favoring the Mayor and 44 percent favoring Mr. Giuliani . By contrast , surveys of voters leaving the polls in 1989 showed Mr. Dinkins won about two-thirds of Hispanic votes cast , while Mr. Giuliani received one-third . Voters who identified themselves as Hispanic made up 13 percent of the electorate then , according to the surveys , blacks accounted for 28 percent and whites 56 percent . <p> In the poll , shifts among Hispanic voters accounted for some of the gains that Mr. Giuliani has made since 1989 . He is now running even with Mr. Dinkins among female voters , who constitute a majority of the electorate , a group that he lost by eight points last time . That may also reflect the fact that he grappled for a clear stand on abortion early in his last campaign , before finally saying that he unequivocally supported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other hand the closeness of the race suggests that the Mayor has consolidated his support slightly among skeptical white voters who may have feared that he would favor blacks if elected . On one of the most publicized controversies of his administration -- conflicts between blacks and Jews in Crown Heights , Brooklyn -- 60 percent of whites said he had treated the groups equally . ' The Race Is Stalemated ' <p> " The Mayor does seem to have gained some ground among the white ethnic groups , perhaps by being seen as evenhanded , " said John Mollenkopf , a political science professor at the City University , who has published extensive studies of the 1989 elections . " Right now , the race is stalemated , and I think it 'll continue to be until something happens to knock one down , or until one or the other succeeds in galvanizing the ambivalent voters with a vision for the city . " <p> Under all the obvious bad news , the survey disclosed some strength in opportunities for Mr. Dinkins . Asked to name the best thing he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he himself has most stressed -- improving race relations and hiring more police officers , each cited by 10 percent of respondents . Conversely , when New Yorkers were asked to cite the worst thing he had done , no one thing stood out ; all items mentioned were in single digits and no one thing was cited by more than 5 percent of those surveyed . So Mr. Dinkins 's opponents have the task of trying to sharpen this focus and persuading voters that the whole of the Mayor 's shortcomings is greater than the sum of their parts . <p> If all politics is local , Mr. Dinkins may also benefit a bit . While 6 in 10 New Yorkers say the city is less safe today than four years ago , only 4 in 10 say their own neighborhood is less safe . At the same time , 4 in 10 say they see more police officers walking in their neighborhoods . Issue of Race Relations <p> Significantly , Mr. Dinkins 's reputation as a racial conciliator cuts both ways . While respondents approve of the way that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to 3 , only 47 percent of those surveyed now believe that is something a mayor can do much about , compared with 57 percent who said a mayor could do a lot about race relations during the 1989 campaign , suggesting that the high hopes that greeted Mr. Dinkins 's election have markedly dissipated . <p> The Mayor compares favorably on this point with Mr. Giuliani , however . Voters were evenly split -- 23 percent to 20 percent -- on whether race relations would get better or worse if Mr. Dinkins were re-elected , while the other half said they would stay about the same . In contrast , 28 percent said race relations would get worse if Mr. Giuliani won , nearly twice the 15 percent who said they would get better . Forty percent said they would stay about the same if Mr. Giuliani were elected and 17 percent said they did not know . <p> The poll can not measure the potential effects of turnout , enthusiasm or voter-registration efforts . No first-term incumbent black mayor of a major American city has been defeated in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . <p> " These things are not going to remain steady , " said David Garth , Mr. Giuliani 's chief strategist . " I expect to go down substantially before we pull this off . I 'm worried about powers of incumbency and vote-pulling operations . But whatever happens , it 's going to be a horse race . The Mayor 's base of strength is obviously not as strong as it was . " ' Got My Attention ' <p> The Mayor 's campaign manager , Bill Lynch , expressed concern at the poll 's findings , particularly at the close race in Brooklyn and among women and Hispanic voters . " You sure got my attention on Brooklyn , " he said . <p> Mr. Lynch added : " I do n't know just what to make of it . We 've really got to get out there pushing . This is a dead heat right now . But I do n't want to do that at the expense of being complacent in the primary , and that 's our first priority . " <p> Mostly because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a considerable advantage in the Democratic primary , with 49 percent of registered Democrats saying they would vote for him , compared with 16 percent for Mr. Stein , 8 percent for former Representative Herman Badillo , who announced his withdrawal in the middle of the survey to consider running for comptroller on a multiparty ticket perhaps in alliance with Mr. Giuliani , and 6 percent for Roy Innis , the national chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality . <p> But there is another worry for the Mayor . In recent years poll takers have frequently overstated black candidates ' standing in pre-election polls when compared with the outcome on Election Day , even in contests with incumbents . Analysts at the Gallup Organization examined nine contests between 1982 and 1990 in which black and white candidates faced one another and concluded that when a black candidate led by fewer than 8 percentage points in the polls chances were he did not have a lead at all . <p> During the last two days of the survey , when voters were asked how Mr. Badillo 's support for Mr. Giuliani @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said it would make no difference . <p> In another good sign for Mr. Dinkins , the Mayor led Mr. Giuliani by a margin of 2 to 1 among voters who said they knew someone who was gay , believed homosexuality was an acceptable life style , favored legalizing longterm homosexual relationships and teaching tolerance for homosexuals in the schools . That is significant because Mr. Dinkins has enjoyed strong gay support in the past and Mr. Giuliani has taken particular pains to urge tolerance for gay people . <p> The poll also offered an historical twist . In a testament to the passage of time and political fortunes , it showed that former Mayor Edward I. Koch would now defeat Mr. Dinkins by eight percentage points among all registered voters , virtually the reverse of the nine-point margin by which Mr. Dinkins defeated him in the 1989 Democratic primary . How the City Poll Was Conducted <p> The latest New York Times/WCBS-TV News Poll is based on telephone interviews conducted May 10 to 14 with 1,273 adults in all parts of New York City . Interviews were conducted in either @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called was selected by a computer from a complete list of city exchanges . The exchanges were chosen so as to assure that each area in the city was represented in proportion to its population . For each exchange , the telephone numbers were formed by random digits , thus permitting access to both listed and unlisted numbers . Within each household one adult was designated by a random procedure to be the respondent for the survey . <p> The results have been weighted to take account of household size and number of telephone lines into the residence , and to adjust for variations in the sample relating to borough , race , sex , and age . <p> In theory , in 19 cases out of 20 the results based on such samples will differ by no more than 3 percentage points in either direction from what would have been obtained by seeking out all adult New Yorkers . <p> For smaller subgroups the potential sampling error is larger . For example , it is plus or minus 5 percentage points for white registered voters , 7 points for black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . <p> In addition to sampling error , the practical difficulties of conducting any survey of public opinion may introduce other sources of error into the poll . Differences in the wording and order of questions , for instance , can lead to somewhat varying results . <p> Table : " How Voters Divide for Mayor " <p> The percentage of people who say they would vote for each candidate if the November election were held today . David Rudolph Andrew Rudolph Dinkins Giuliani Stein Giuliani 45% 44% Total ( % of total ) 30% 47% Race 27% 60% Whites ( 60% ) 25% 57% 88% 7% Blacks ( 25% ) 43% 25% 45% 44% Hispanic ( 14% ) * 30% 46% Sex 46% 43% Men ( 48% ) 30% 52% 43% 45% Women ( 52% ) 29% 43% Borough 41% 46% Brooklyn ( 27% ) 27% 47% 49% 43% Bronx ( 15% ) 32% 43% 61% 28% Manhattan ( 23% ) 34% 40% 39% 47% Queens ( 28% ) 30% 50% 16% 81% Staten Island ( 7% ) 19% 71% Age 47% 42% 18-29 years old ( 23% ) 33% @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 51% 44% 47% 45-64 years old ( 28% ) 31% 46% 40% 47% 65 and older ( 19% ) 22% 45% Religious affiliation 26% 60% White Protestants ( 7% ) 21 67% 18% 73% White Catholics ( 27% ) 17% 71% 92% 4% Black Protestants ( 17% ) 48 24% 80% 9% Black Catholics ( 5% ) 33% 37% 33% 45% Jewish ( 16% ) 35% 37% Political views 59% 30% Liberals ( 31% ) 36% 35% 44% 44% Moderates ( 39% ) 29% 48% 29% 61% Conservatives ( 27% ) 22% 63% Household income 48% 35% Under $15,000 ( 11% ) 32% 38% 54% 34% $15,000 to $29,999 ( 26% ) 31% 39% 42% 48% $30,000 to $49,999 ( 33% ) 32% 47% 38% 52% $50,000 to $75,000 ( 14% ) 25% 57% 39% 50% Over $75,000 ( 14% ) 30% 60% Say in 15 years the city will . . . 66% 24% Get better ( 22% ) 34% 38% 52% 36% Stay the same ( 23% ) 41% 41% 32% 58% Get worse ( 51% ) 22% 55% Based on 842 telephone interviews with adult New Yorkers who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 14. *Hispanic respondents can be of any race . ( pg . B2 ) 
##3001252 <p> It was dramatic -- a woman killed by her estranged husband in Brooklyn Family Court , a bullet fired into the back of her head as she sat on a bench waiting for their case to be called . <p> To legal and social-services professionals who knew her , the death of Danielle Almonor two months ago carried a sobering message that made the loss all the more painful . <p> Their dispute was not a secret one , played out behind closed doors . Instead , it was a struggle marked by months of harassment that drew wide attention . Even her superiors got involved , trying to get her husband 's superiors to intercede . <p> But nothing helped . The slaying took place in the building where such conflicts are settled -- a graphic reminder that sometimes neither institutions nor caring individuals are able to prevent personal passion from exploding into an act of violence . Part of the System <p> The Almonors -- Danielle , 38 , a Federal probation officer , and Max , 52 , a state parole officer -- were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of domestic disputes , they had access to supportive co-workers , therapists , counseling and court programs . Their bosses knew of their problems , yet a week before Mrs. Almonor 's death , the State Parole Division handed Mr. Almonor the gun he would use to kill her . Mrs. Almonor sought the protection of Family Court , and ended up being gunned down inside of it . <p> Mr. Almonor is awaiting trial on murder charges . Through his attorney , he maintained that the shooting was justified and that his wife or others were armed and possibly intended to shoot him . <p> Regardless of the legal outcome , Mrs. Almonor has joined the 2,000 to 4,000 women who are killed each year by their present or former male partners . At least another two million are seriously beaten . <p> Most experts agree that no system can stop all acts of violence by people determined to hurt others . But this case begged the question : If the system could n't help the Almonors , whom could it help ? <p> Such concerns seemed remote for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ University of Bordeaux , in France , where both obtained journalism degrees . <p> Danielle Port , chubby and insecure as a child in the small town of Perigueux , delighted in the attentions of Mr. Almonor , a well-spoken man 14 years her senior . <p> Born in Haiti , he immigrated to the United States in the mid-1960 's and became a citizen . He had worked as a counselor , as a teacher . He had been married before and had three sons . <p> Mr. Almonor and Miss Port married Nov. 2 , 1979 , in New York , and their daughter , Melissa , was born the next year . The wedding accomplished something important to the new Mrs. Almonor -- it allowed her to stay in the United States . <p> Mr. Almonor pursued a bachelor 's degree at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and in 1984 started working as a state parole officer . His wife , who at first spoke little English , raised their daughter and began a slow but determined assimilation into American culture . <p> Eventually , Mrs. Almonor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she obtained United States citizenship ; the following year , she graduated from college with honors . <p> By 1989 , Mrs. Almonor was studying social work at Hunter College ; she would get her master 's in 1992 . <p> She took a job at the Children 's Aid Society and in June 1991 , was hired by the United States Probation Department for the Eastern District of New York , on Clinton Street in downtown Brooklyn . <p> Her colleagues there were impressed by her intelligence and compassion , her desire to help others . And they were intrigued by her personality , blunt and direct . Some found it charming , others brusque . <p> Probation Officer Joan Collins said Mrs. Almonor was the kind of person who , at a meal , might say , " Give me your bread , " and reach across , take it off your plate and eat it . Mrs. Almonor expected those she knew to treat her the same way . <p> She struck up close friendships with a few colleagues . Soon , she was telling them of problems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lives <p> The Almonors lived in a second-floor apartment in a seven-story , red-brick building on Beverly Road , a block off busy Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn . Mr. Almonor and the building 's superintendent , Jeremiah Johnson , liked to play dominoes , or have a beer , or just hang out and talk with friends . <p> Mr. Almonor was the kind of person who minded his business , Mr. Johnson said . " But he has a short temper , " he added . " If you say something he does n't like , he will jump up and get in your face . " <p> At one point , the Johnsons and the Almonors organized a neighborhood watch to keep drug dealers away from their building . Many neighbors saw the Almonors as a team . <p> Mr. Johnson knew better . " She looked happy , but she was never happy , " he said . <p> One reason was Mr. Almonor 's gambling . Mr. Almonor liked poker , Mr. Johnson said , and frequently would travel to Atlantic City to play , sometimes twice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ losses mounted . The couple had hoped to buy a house , but could not . Mrs. Almonor told her friends that she finally had to separate her finances from his . <p> When she got her job at the Probation Department , the marriage really started deteriorating , friends of both agreed . Although her salary of around $32,000 was well below the $44,000 he earned as a parole officer , some in the law-enforcement field saw the Federal system as carrying more prestige . That bothered Mr. Almonor . <p> " He did n't want her to go up in life , " Mr. Johnson said . <p> After she got her job , people who knew Mrs. Almonor noticed her gaining new friends , new confidence . She seemed to be growing , but her marriage was not . <p> Late in 1991 , Mrs. Almonor moved out , taking Melissa with her and renting an apartment nearby . <p> Mr. Almonor worked to convince her to return . Arthur Lewis , Mr. Almonor 's attorney , said the husband became involved with a gambling support group and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr. Almonor emerged encouraged . She had indicated , he thought , that they could try to work things out , that she was coming back . A Plot to Discredit <p> But she did not . In February 1992 , Mr. Almonor phoned her boss , Stephen J. Rackmill , chief Federal probation officer for New York 's eastern district , and asked him to help persuade Mrs. Almonor to reconcile . Mr. Rackmill said he replied that it would be inappropriate for him to intervene . <p> A month later , copies of an anonymous letter were sent to a Federal judge , the Department of Immigration , the State Department , the F.B.I. , the C.I.A . It said Mrs. Almonor had a shady background in France that called into question her fitness to serve as a probation officer . And it accused her of being hired as the result of a sexual relationship with Mr. Rackmill . <p> Mr. Rackmill , who had just assumed his role as chief probation officer , had not even hired Mrs. Almonor . Nevertheless , an investigator in the Federal courts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigation concluded that Mr. Almonor was the likely author of the letter , and found nothing improper about the way Mrs. Almonor was hired . But it did turn up that Mrs. Almonor had failed to disclose that she had been seeing a psychotherapist . <p> Like all new employees , Mrs. Almonor was on probation her first year . The decision was made to extend her probation a year , through June 1993 . Confrontation Sense of Pain , Sense of Betrayal <p> More letters were sent , and Mrs. Almonor reported receiving threats from her husband . The distractions were causing her to fall behind in her work . Her supervisors decided to confront Mr. Almonor . <p> On April 14 , Jim Fox , deputy chief probation officer , went to the parole division 's office on Fulton Street , along with Steve Brighton , a supervising officer who also was a classmate of Mrs. Almonor 's at Hunter . <p> Mr. Almonor listened politely , even as Mr. Brighton said forcefully : " Max , you just need to let Danielle go . You need to back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recalled that Mr. Almonor " was very controlled , " but " underlying , there was a sense of hurt . " <p> Later that afternoon , Mr. Fox and Mr. Brighton met with one of Mr. Almonor 's supervisors to advise him of the letters . <p> Despite the meetings , the letters continued . Now they claimed that Mrs. Almonor was having an affair with Mr. Brighton , which he denied . Before it was over , a steady stream of correspondence would be sent to a number of agencies , charging that the United States Probation Department was involved in a racist conspiracy to take Mrs. Almonor from her husband . Much of it now was signed by Mr. Almonor , who is black . His wife was white . <p> Mr. Brighton felt a growing uneasiness over the situation , and it was not just over being thrust into the firing line . <p> Certainly , Mrs. Almonor worked in an overwhelmingly white environment , Mr. Brighton realized . And he could understand why Mr. Almonor might feel a sense of betrayal . " She got her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gets her degree , joins the feds and that 's it . " <p> Mr. Brighton was also concerned about Mrs. Almonor 's response to the conflict . He wondered if she thought fully enough about how Mr. Almonor would react if she left the marriage . He told her : " There 's a price . " The Mediators Concern Rises As Agencies Feud <p> As concern mounted , Miss Collins , the probation officer , agreed to hide Mrs. Almonor and Melissa in her apartment . <p> About 11:30 A.M. on Easter Sunday , the phone rang . The caller hung up immediately . Then there were obscene calls . Altogether , there were nine harassing calls that day . <p> The next day , Miss Collins recalled , Mrs. Almonor met with her husband to resolve a bill . He told her he had been to her apartment on Argyle Road and taken her clothing . <p> Alarmed , Mrs. Almonor , Miss Collins and Mr. Fox went to the apartment . Indeed , all her clothes were gone . <p> Back in the office Wednesday , April @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to return the goods if someone could come by his place and pick them up . <p> Mr. Fox headed to Mr. Almonor 's apartment , accompanied by Elaine Terenzi , a fellow supervisor . They carried a temporary order of protection Mrs. Almonor had obtained against her husband that day from Brooklyn Family Court . <p> When they arrived at Beverly Road , they encountered a visibly distraught Mr. Almonor , who said he had contemplated suicide . " I sat in my car for about five minutes with a gun in my mouth , " he told them . <p> Maybe now was not a good time to serve the order of protection , thought Mr. Fox and Ms. Terenzi . Instead , they talked with him for more than two hours , about counseling , about threats . They asked him to give them his gun ; he declined . They talked about Melissa . <p> " Do you love your daughter ? " Ms. Terenzi asked . " Then you ca n't kill Danielle or yourself . " <p> They got the clothes back and left , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if someone did not do something soon . <p> The next day , Ms. Terenzi contacted the office of the Brooklyn bureau chief for the State Parole Division , who dispatched a subordinate to meet with her . Ms. Terenzi 's message : " He 's one of yours . Take care of him . I 'm not saying fire the guy , but get him help . " <p> She handed him a copy of her notes of the encounter at the apartment . Noting that Mr. Almonor 's job required him to carry a weapon , she added : " This guy is dangerous , and the gun has got to go . " Protection Order Extended <p> Concerns quickly developed over how the state would deal with the matter . Mr. Rackmill said he received a call from a parole administrator who asked , " Who the hell are you guys to come into our office , telling us how to discipline our own people ? " <p> " You have an employee that 's out of control , " Mr. Rackmill responded . <p> Mr. Rackmill had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ covered it with a cordial letter , and on April 29 shipped it to Rick Levy , regional director of the State Division of Parole . <p> That was the last correspondence between the two agencies . In July , a Brooklyn Family Court judge granted Mrs. Almonor a " permanent " order of protection from her husband , good for a year . <p> Mr. Almonor and his bosses agreed that some time off might be beneficial . Mr. Almonor was on leave May 7 through June 22 , then began a six-month absence Aug. 17 . He handed in his badge and .38-caliber service revolver . <p> Mr. Almonor spent much of his leave on extended trips to France . His absence was a relief to his wife . She put in extra hours to catch up with her work . Mr. Rackmill and senior staff decided to expand her duties to include field work . She began training to qualify for a firearm . <p> Two days before New Year 's Day 1993 , Mrs. Almonor went to Supreme Court in Brooklyn and filed for divorce . The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a memo was posted near the receptionists ' desk at the Probation Department . It was from Mrs. Almonor , asking that all her calls be screened except those from her daughter . <p> Max was back . <p> He called the office frequently . He was seen around the building . <p> In one sense , Mrs. Almonor and her attorney , Estelle Masielo , were relieved that Mr. Almonor had turned up . The divorce papers needed to be served in person . <p> Meanwhile , Mr. Almonor was upbeat . He told neighbors he was confident his wife would return to him . He also talked with Terry Rodie , district manager for Community Board 14 , to which he had been appointed in April 1992 . With all his personal problems , he had contributed little . He told Ms. Rodie he had been ill and that he was looking forward to putting some energy into the board . <p> On Thursday , March 4 , Mr. Almonor returned to work . The next day , he got his gun back . <p> One day later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his apartment and handed him the divorce complaint . As the server left , Mr. Almonor looked out the window . He thought he spotted some of his wife 's co-workers . <p> Ms. Masielo talked with her client . Mr. Almonor had asked for an appearance in Family Court that Friday , March 12 , to request a revision in custody and child support arrangements . With the divorce papers filed , Mrs. Almonor needed only to ask the judge to transfer the custody issues to Supreme Court , so the case could be consolidated . It was an appearance that could be handled without an attorney present . <p> Still , it would be the first time Mrs. Almonor would see her husband in months . Should Ms. Masielo accompany her client ? Finally , the lawyer said the decision was Mrs. Almonor 's . Mrs. Almonor said she could handle it by herself . <p> On Friday , Mrs. Almonor arrived at Family Court around 9:30 A.M. She took the only seat left in the fifth-floor waiting area and opened a suspense novel , " The Pelican Brief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up and approached his wife several times . At one point he handed her a white envelope , containing a note . <p> Mr. Almonor demanded that she read the material ; Mrs. Almonor sharply told him to leave her alone . <p> Eventually , 11 o'clock approached . Mr. Almonor was back , and handed his wife an envelope . This time , she ripped it to pieces . <p> " You wait here , " Mr. Almonor said , according to the woman sitting next to Mrs. Almonor , Maryjane Winn . " I 'll be back in a minute . " <p> Through his attorney , Mr. Almonor said he felt in danger as he approached a short time later . He thought Mrs. Almonor had a gun , and that he saw someone with a gun in the row behind her . Mark Hale , an assistant district attorney , said neither was the case . <p> In any event , there was a loud pop -- it sounded like a firecracker . <p> Mr. Almonor had fired his service revolver three times . One shot entered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through the back of her head at an angle and lodged in her brain . Another shattered bone in Ms. Winn 's right shoulder , broke a rib and lodged in the center of her chest , near her heart . The third missed everyone . <p> Mrs. Almonor lay on the floor , blood pouring from the back of her head , as people trampled one another in an attempt to flee . Someone broke a leg ; another suffered a bad cut on the scalp . <p> There were no court security officers in the waiting area when the shooting occurred , but several approached quickly when they heard the commotion . The suspect placed his service revolver on a chair , surrendering , and Officer Thomas Mannhaupt grabbed it . The Aftermath Shattered Lives , Preventive Steps <p> Max Almonor was ordered held without bond , charged with second-degree murder , assault and reckless endangerment . His trial date is Sept. 7 . <p> Melissa Almonor is being cared for by one of Mr. Almonor 's sons , Merault . Maryjane Winn is in physical therapy at St. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At Family Court -- where security measures were harshly criticized after the shooting -- an airport-style X-ray machine has been added , and officials have asked for more court officers . Law-enforcement officers say they are being questioned more closely about their reasons for being in the building ; if they are there on personal business , they must give up their weapons . <p> Meanwhile , as they identified her body , located relatives in France and helped arrange her funeral , Mrs. Almonor 's colleagues in the Probation Department wrestled with grief and anger . <p> Many felt that , given the order of protection against Mr. Almonor and a documented history of troubled behavior , the State Parole Division 's decision to return his gun was risky and premature . <p> David Ernst , spokesman for the parole division , said officials reacted " in what we believed was an appropriate and prompt and prudent manner , given the information available at the time . " <p> Estelle Masielo sat at work the following week virtually immobilized , crying much of the time . She asked repeatedly : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have intercepted the letters . Maybe I could have calmed him down , defused the situation . <p> Maybe you 'd be dead , said her law partner , Gail Rich . Ms. Masielo finally accepted , more or less , that she could not have prevented the slaying . <p> Others worked through the same issues . " What could I have done ? " asked Rick Gray , a probation officer and friend who had eaten breakfast that morning with Mrs. Almonor . " I 've turned this over and looked at this from a lot of angles . And the objective answer is : Nothing . " <p> For Mr. Gray and the others , that answer provided , at best , only an uneasy peace . 
##3001253 <p> A blur slides across Independence Avenue toward a side entrance to the Cannon House Office Building . A momentary pause and it takes shape . The Representative from Staten Island applies her warmest grin . " Hi . Remember me ? Congresswoman Susan Molinari . " <p> A smile from a startled guard , then she 's gone , skipping the drill of the metal detector , swinging through her office doors , scooping up a pile of papers and heading for the phone with the look of a slightly hyper college student running late for class . <p> There are several truisms about this 35-year-old inheritor of the " Molinari machine " set in motion by her grandfather , a one-term State Assemblyman ; oiled and revved by her father , Guy V. Molinari , the former Representative turned Staten Island Borough President ; and now wheeled into prime time by this ebullient former cheerleader who once longed to be a journalist but now is often mentioned for a run for higher office . <p> She is young . She is outspoken . She is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she is a Republican . <p> Yet because she is an anomaly -- a Republican woman who backs abortion rights -- she is in danger of becoming her own worst cliche . And so she must be wary , always , of becoming just a sideshow , appealing and graced with a gift for sound bites , but not a player with influence on party politics or floor votes and perhaps even in danger of alienating some in her own constituency . <p> An iconoclast in a staunchly conservative district , she won re-election by only 56 percent of the vote last fall , and her approval rating can sometimes seem higher on the nightly news than in the backyards of her own district . Her father , a vocal opponent of abortion and an old-timer on the rubber bagel circuit , says friends sometimes tell him they are loyal and true blue , but can not bring themselves to vote for his " pro-choice daughter . " She is criticized in other quarters for being too much like him , an old-style politician inclined to stroke the hands that feed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been thrust into the limelight by a party keen on softening an image of intolerance ossified last year at the Houston convention . Day by day she is trotted out for the television shows ( " Larry King Live " and the evening news among them ) , courted by such senior Republicans as Senator Bob Dole , the minority leader , and touted by none other than Rich Bond , the former chairman of the Republican National Committee , as a candidate with only the sky -- or the White House -- as a limit . <p> Trying to strike a difficult balance between her personal priorities and her party 's politics , she bridles at any suggestion that she is out of the mainstream . She snaps that she 's no angry feminist , no liberal , no daddy 's girl who inherited her father 's Congressional seat through a Machiavellian plot that left him running Staten Island and her snug in his old leather chair on Capitol Hill . <p> She argues , instead , that she is conservative to the core , a real Republican who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is part of the Pepsi generation , and wants to wake up some party elders . At every turn she deftly praises mentors like Senator Dole and picks away at President Clinton 's economic package . She is fiscally conservative , she stresses , a hawk on defense and is against lifting the ban on gay men and lesbians in the military . She even has a dog named George , after George Herbert Walker Bush , a mentor . <p> Still , her high-pep style and atypical political profile have given her national name recognition out of proportion with her scant seniority . <p> She is renowned on both sides of the bipartisan divide for swimming against the Republican tide on such issues as abortion and gun control . She says , not without a quirky pride , that the National Rifle Association dubbed her " traitor " when she voted for the Brady Bill after the N.R.A . had backed her with free mailings in 1990 . Some Deep Divides <p> There are fiercer battles within the party , ones that sometimes leave Ms. Molinari standing out , if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Illinois who firmly opposes abortion , last week cautioned that 1992 's campaign results were " an electoral aberration " and advised the party to resist lurching toward more liberal social stands . A memo from the House Republican Study Committee expressing outrage over a proposal to allow women into combat exposed another deep divide . Steaming over the memo 's tone and content , Ms. Molinari snapped : " I mean c'm on ! Is n't this just a little nanny , nanny , boo , boo ? I wish they would remember there are women in the party , too . " <p> Not many . The Republican Party counts only 12 women among its 176 Representatives in the House . Ms. Molinari wants more . A bumper sticker on her desk ( " 50/50 by 2000 " ) calls for even numbers of men and women in Congress by the year 2000 , hardly a Republican priority . <p> On women 's health issues she can be equally out front . " When I first got here , " she said of her arrival in Congress in March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feeding ' on the House floor there would be a snicker . I mean , this has been happening since creation . Could we finally get a grip on it ? " <p> She can be equally passionate , though , on matters far from home . She has become a high-profile commentator on the situation in Bosnia , weighing in on the merits of air strikes and United Nations involvement . Her interest , she said , derived not from a committee assignment , but over a series of sessions with her Armenian hairdresser who filled her in on the region 's troubled history . It is a weird explanation for an introduction to foreign affairs . But it is vintage Molinari , personal to the point of folksy . Influential Friends <p> Tanya Melich , a Republican political consultant who has worked with female candidates for years , believes Ms. Molinari combines a perfect ethnic profile ( she is an East Coast Italian Catholic with traces of Irish , Czech , Australian and Chinese ) blessed with perfect political pitch . " You look at her bio and , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " It 's really wonderful . She did the kind of things we teach women to do in training sessions . Susan 's got a power base . She 's got a national constituency in terms of women who identify with her . She 's got a leadership role in the Republican pro-choice circles . She 's got a solid base on Staten Island . " <p> She also has some very influential friends , both in New York and beyond . One of them is the man she dates , Representative Bill Paxon of Williamsville , a Buffalo suburb , who is chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee , the campaign arm for Republican House races . <p> She constantly and carefully nurtures contacts up and down the party line . Last year , when her father scrapped a long friendship with Mr. Bond by telling reporters that Dan Quayle was " a liability " to President Bush 's run for re-election , his daughter was more circumspect . She said she had " mixed feelings " and then dropped a perfect bomb . " Whether public perception is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " she said of Mr. Quayle 's poor standing . Her father and Mr. Bond have not spoken since . Ms. Molinari headed for the telephone . " He called screaming , " she said . " I called screaming . And after that we made up . " No burnt bridges . <p> It is not always that easy . Her fierce support of keeping the Navy home port open on Staten Island , a constituent-pleaser that guarantees jobs and Federal financing , has aggravated some critics who wish she would broaden her view of the national interest . After a meeting on the issue last week , Thomas S. DeLuca , the former head of the Coalition for a Nuclear Free Harbor , complained that no one supporting the port closure was allowed time to speak . Politics vs . People ? <p> A handful of elderly people who visited Ms. Molinari 's Brooklyn office in Bay Ridge also went away less than satisfied . After Ms. Molinari politely refused to sign on to a health bill they backed , Shirley Genn , the executive director of the Brooklyn-wide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was putting politics ahead of people , just as her father might have . <p> " The last time I saw her there were 30 people and only one -- me -- was there representing the consumer , " Ms. Genn explained . " The others all represented providers . She 's extremely well-informed . She 's bright , she 's caring , perhaps , but when push comes to shove it is my observation that her decision will be on political grounds , not human needs . " <p> On the subject of his successful successor , Mr. Molinari rejects everything but abject praise . " I 'm pro-life , " he said of his one major area of disagreement . " We 've had some trouble with that . But I know that my stand politically alienates some people . " On other matters , he said , the two mostly " share issues . " At times , they even share office space . So close is their relationship that staff members at Ms. Molinari 's office say that when her father is in town he sets himself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the office couch . <p> That casualness is one of his daughter 's trademarks . Her style is so quintessentially New York , so unvarnished and unself-conscious , that when she was distracted by a ringing telephone in her Brooklyn district office recently she reacted with a Staten Islander 's flair , winging it impatiently around in the air , then dropping to her knees to yank the cord from a wall socket . ' Has Always Been Different ' <p> " She seems to have lost the caution gene somehow , " Ms. Gorlin said . " She still thinks that it 's sort of fun to be in Congress . But at a certain level it 's not fun and I 'm not sure she knows what that 's all about . " <p> Until she does , she rocks through Washington , complaining that the capital is not a real city since it has " no ugly people , no fat people , no old people and no dogs . " <p> Mr. Bond , a New Yorker himself , loves that bluntness . " She has always @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Republican National Committee 's political division as a recent graduate of State University of New York at Albany . <p> " From the start , " Mr. Bond said , " she was n't this demure Laura Ashley Washington type . She used to wear black high-top Converse sneakers and there was a certain degree of derisiveness about that down here in La La Land . " Raised on Politics <p> But she has stuck by her ways . She was the first woman ever to wear pants on the House floor , a scandal at the time . And she still gives her mother heartburn when she bolts off to a nationally televised debate wearing sneakers . Her former administrative aide , Dan Leonard , now the director of communications at the National Republican Congressional Committee , said he was shocked recently when he saw her carrying a purse ( usually she just packs her wallet ) . <p> That spiritedness perhaps comes from having politics on the brain and in the bloodstream . In the Molinari household of the 1960 's , the Molinaris and their only child @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Later she would apply those talents in the New York City Council , a " boring " post she held for five years before taking over her father 's abandoned seat in Congress . <p> In recent months Mr. Molinari has weighed a run for governor . But if his daughter wanted to run , he said , he would defer . " There are things about her that would make her the better candidate , " he said . " She is younger , she is a woman , she 's pro-choice . " <p> That 's the rub . Only a run for wider office could answer one question : whether the Republicans really see her as the torchbearer for the next generation , or if they just applaud because , for now , she provides what many Republican strategists say the party so badly needs , an antidote to the toxins of last summer . <p> Chart : " PROFILE : Susan Molinari " Born : March 27 , 1958 ; Staten Island Hometown : Staten Island Education : St. Joseph Hill Academy , 1976 ; State @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in political communications , SUNY Albany , 1981 . Career : 1981-83 , finance assistant for Republican Governor 's Association . 1983-85 , ethnic community liaison for the Republican National Committee . 1985-90 , New York City Council member . 1990-present , Representative of New York 's 13thDistrict . Family : Father , Guy V. Molinari ; mother , Marguerite Molinari . Formerly married to John Lucchesi of Staten Island . The marriage ended in divorce in 1992 . No children . Interests : Runs three to four miles several times a week . Also works out on Nordic Track machines at her homes in Staten Island and Washington . Devoted to her dog , George . ( pg . B7 ) 
##3001254 <p> New Yorkers have endured more than their share of latter-day urban plagues -- from graffiti and street crime to car alarms that go off in the middle of the night . Now come tires , thousands upon thousands of them , in tumbledown piles in vacant lots , scattered beneath elevated highways like steel-belted doughnuts baking to a vulcanized doneness in the warm spring air . <p> Largely because environmental restrictions have raised the cost of disposing of them , discarded tires have increasingly become fixtures of the city 's landscape in poorer neighborhoods in the South Bronx , Queens and Brooklyn , creating a visual blight that has begun to alarm residents and community leaders . <p> " It was never like this , " said Mike Colon , 51 , who has lived in the Fordham section of the Bronx more than a decade . Pointing to dozens of junk tires lining the block of Park Avenue where he lives , he said , " You call Sanitation and they clean a lot today , and the next day the tires are piled up again @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Department helped to collect about 200,000 tires illegally dumped in New York City , said Anne Canty , a spokeswoman for the department . Nearly all come from commercial dealers . <p> Ms. Canty estimates that about four million tires are discarded -- legally and illegally -- in the city each year . <p> Although she could not say how many of those were dumped illegally , the Sanitation Department is now finishing a survey to determine how many junk tires are cluttering the city 's streets and vacant lots . <p> Once the counting is done the department can turn to figuring out what to do with them . It is already buying new shredders to help with the disposal and is considering a plan to attract tire recyclers to New York . <p> " Hopefully , we can create a market for the tires , " Ms. Canty said . " The city could reap economic development benefits by helping to foster businesses around recycling . " <p> Until then the tires will remain an eyesore , a nuisance and a potential health hazard . City health officials say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them afire , and many parents say they worry about their children playing in and around their shaky mounds . <p> Besides being a source of filth and irritation , the tires provide an interesting lesson in environmental consciousness , experts say . As concerns rose in the 1980 's about what was being dumped and buried in the earth , it quickly became clear that traditional ways of disposing of tires , like stacking them in huge piles on vacant land , led to unacceptable environmental hazards , tire disposal experts say . Such hazards became obvious whenever the stacks were set on fire.They burned out of control for days at a time and producing thick clouds of noxious smoke . <p> Landfills were also a problem . For years , old tires were routinely tossed into their seemingly bottomless pits . But environmentalists discovered that tires were bulky , did not decompose and had the nasty habit of floating to the tops of landfills , even breaking through their surfaces after they were sealed and covered with a layer of soil , Ms. Canty said . <p> Consequently , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ greatly limiting the numbers of whole tires that could be dumped in landfills . Now , some landfills will accept tires , but only after they are chopped into bits . Recycling Is Expensive <p> But the environmentally sound alternative -- having tires hauled to processing plants where they are ground for reuse or disposal -- is very expensive , waste management officials say . <p> Although ground-up tires can be used to produce a variety of products , including asphalt and a coal fuel additive in making electricity and cement , the industry is relatively new . Officials say nearly three-fourths of the 200 million tires that are discarded each year are not recycled . <p> Ideally , when a customer buys new tires the tire dealer disposes of the old ones by paying a reputable tire processor . The processor charges the dealer $1 or more to haul each tire away , a cost that is usually passed on directly to the customer . The processor then grinds up the tires and pays a recycler to take them away or pays a fee to have them placed in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charge , some tire repair shops and garages have turned to an underground economy in which anyone with a truck and a strong back can cart away the tires at a cut rate , Ms. Canty said . Anywhere No One Is Looking <p> Many underground haulers then dump tires any place they think they can get away with it , experts said . In recent years , those places have increasingly been vacant lots . <p> Currently , illegal dumpers can be fined $1,000 to $7,500 by the city if caught , said Ms. Canty . Vehicles used in illegal dumping can also be impounded , she said . Recently , an illegal dumper was caught in the act near Shea Stadium by a special sanitation task force , she said . <p> Yet the penalties have not discouraged many . <p> Nicholas Lugo , 16 , said he had seen men dump junk tires in his neighborhood , the Fordham section of the Bronx , many times , " even in plain view . " <p> " They just look both ways , and -- WROOF ! -- they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and aunt nodded in agreement . Issue in Bronx and Queens <p> Olga Ortiz , who has lived in her Fordham neighborhood for nine years , said illegal dumpers seem to think they can act with impunity . " I think they figure that it 's the Bronx , " she said . " I think they think it 's just more garbage and no one around here is going to make an issue of it . " <p> But an issue is precisely what discarded tires have become in the Bronx . One of the first questions Borough President Fernando Ferrer fielded at a recent community meeting in the University Heights section of the borough was about junk tires in its streets and on the hillsides . <p> " It 's disgraceful , " said Claire Shulman , the Queens Borough President , about the numbers of junk tires turning up on vacant land and parkways in parts of Queens . " This is not a single tire or two , but mountains of tires . They are coming from business people , gasoline stations , tire repair shops and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them . " <p> Mrs. Shulman said discarded tires were particularly troublesome on stretches of the Grand Central Parkway , the Van Wyck Expressway and Brookville Boulevard as it runs through the wetlands near Kennedy International Airport . Blight and Expense <p> Besides the blight the tires carry to some of the borough 's most beautiful open spaces , Mrs. Shulman said , they are also costly to remove . <p> Jo Soriano , who with her husband operates an auto parts and tire repair shop in the Fordham neighborhood , says she pays a commercial hauler to dispose of the tires the three-year-old business accumulates . But that does not stop the underground haulers from buzzing around her door . <p> " We just had some people come by here and ask if they can pick up tires and dump them , " said Ms. Soriano . " They wanted 50 cents a tire . I told them no . " <p> But the price being offered to Ms. Soriano was about half what legitimate tire processing operations charge , said Charles Piggot , president of Integrated Tire , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my life miserable , " he said of the underground haulers . He complained that he had to follow all the rules and regulations of the Department of Environmental Conservation , " which are very strict in New York State , and they do n't . " <p> Ms. Canty said that the Sanitation Department had been studying the disposal problem about six months , and was buying five shredders this year , for about $250,000 each , to help . <p> But even with those tire shredders running full time , Mr. Piggot suggested that the city would still face the expensive task of gathering the tires to bring them to the shredders . <p> Mr. Ferrer , however , says he believes he has a solution . He is studying a plan that would give some Bronx residents an incentive to bring discarded tires to collection centers , much as some people collect and redeem discarded cans . <p> The Federal Government , he noted , will begin requiring next year that all highway projects involving Federal dollars have at least five percent of the road materials made from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a salvage value . <p> Mr. Ferrer said he was also trying to persuade a tire recycler to open a business in the Bronx . " This is in a sense a rubber mine , " he said . " We are ready to mine . " <p> At the same time , the Sanitation Department is considering proposing a modification to New York 's recycling law that would attach a surcharge to the cost of any new tires , Ms. Canty said . Part of the surcharge , she said , would be used to pay tire retailers to dispose of the junk tires properly . The rest would help underwrite the city 's campaign to pick up discarded tires . <p> In the meantime , the piles of abandoned tires have proven to be something of a windfall for people like Anthony Benjamin , 33 . ' Still Got Some Meat ' <p> " Here 's a good one , " Mr. Benjamin said as measured the tread of a tire discarded beneath the Cross Bronx Expressway near Webster Avenue . " The trick is that you got @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them . " <p> Already , Mr. Benjamin , who estimates that he sells about 50 tires a week to passing motorists on Webster , had two tires , patched and inflated . They served as both product display and a seat from which to hawk his finds . <p> In less than 15 minutes , two gypsy cabs stopped to inquire about Mr. Benjamin 's tires . They sold for $5 apiece , a little more than half his asking price . Nonetheless , Mr. Benjamin was elated . <p> " It do n't cost me nothing , " he said . " There 're always plenty of old tires around here . " 