BEEP on the small screen

Look for Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. on an upcoming episode of Law & Order. The New York Observer's
Politicker column shows the beep with cast members on the steps of Borough Hall, where the episode was filmed on Oct. 24.

Sun praises Steven Byrns

The work of Riverdalian Steven Byrns and his architecture
firm BKSK Architects is the subject of a rave review from
The New York Sun.
The firm's "moment has arrived," writes critic James
Gardner, who singles out a new eight-story, nine-unit
apartment building at 25 Bond St. as "one of the more
distinguished new buildings in Manhattan."

Does the punishment fit the crime?

Horace Mann is cracking down on cutting, reports the school paper, The Record.
Students who are absent without leave have to spend their free periods in study hall in a small room next to the dean’s office.
The policy is working, students told the paper, but The Record isn’t happy. Its editorial takes the administration to task, calling the policy draconian and saying its one-size-fits-all solution to absences is unfair.
"Students are guilty until proven innocent. There is no trial, no system of appeals, and no one to speak to on a student's behalf. We realize that this policy aims to correct a reoccurring problem within our community – cutting class; however, it simply highlights mistrust in the student body and the administration’s closed doors to communication," the student editors charge.

For Fieldston homeowners

Opponents and proponents of landmark status for Fieldston have rarely agreed, but they do agree that a set of guidelines for what changes can be made to homes in the Fieldston Historic District would be useful.
Officials of the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission will meet with Fieldston homeowners on Oct. 25 to hammer out refinements to the proposed master plan, which, the commission hopes, will simplify the process of winning approval for changes to homes in the district.
The Fieldston Property Owners Association has circulated drafts of the master plan twice over the summer, and solicited responses from its members.
The purpose of the meeting — for homeowners only — at Riverdale Country School is to solicit concrete suggestions for changes to the plan, which will guide the commission and its staff once it becomes final.

How about those Knicks?

By Richard L. Stein

Years ago, my good friend Pyser Edelsack and I settled into a happy routine. Sometime in August or September Pyser would purchase a pair of tickets for the basketball season in the last row of Section 302 at Madison Square Garden. I was responsible for dinner on game night.

We suffered through many a losing season, then enjoyed the three-point shooting of Rick Pitino's New York Bomb Squad, cheered through the Ewing years, groaned through the Houston years and gnashed our teethe at the lackluster teams since then.

When players behaved badly off the court they were either traded or disciplined and we could give our hearts to the Knicks without moral compunction.

The recent courtroom revelations in the Isaiah Thomas sexual harassment case changed all that. I find myself thoroughly disgusted with the team's management and especially its arrogant owner, James L. Dolan.

I find myself wondering whether I ought to opt out of being a Knick fan and stay home until Mr. Dolan is compelled to sell the team the way M. Donald Grant was pushed out by irate Mets fans after he turned Shea Stadium into "Grant's Tomb" with his mismanagement of the team.

When I put the question to Pyser he needed time to consider it. He consulted his son, Mack, in Atlanta. Mack told him we should cancel our contracts with Cablevision, which is also owned by the Dolan family, but we should keep on going to games if we enjoyed them. He had a little trouble focusing on the team's treatment of women. "As bad as they are," he wrote, "don't forget that [Scott] Layden and even [Dave] Checketts (the man who promised Houston $120 million) also bear a lot of the responsibility for our current predicament. I do believe that it all starts with ownership and I truly wish [NBA Commissioner David] Stern would force Dolan to sell to a consortium headed up by Spike Lee."

A Brooklyn judge — a delightful woman whose Garden seats are right in front of ours — weighed in on the subject. "While I tend to agree with Richie, I am a sports fan, and would hate to not be able to watch my team lose this season. I thought about protesting by not getting tickets, but who is hurt by this? You and me! To hell with Isaiah and Dolan. Let's just try to enjoy basketball."

I need guidance dear readers. What would you do?

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