June 25, 1989

LEAD: Twenty years after a police raid on a gay bar in Greenwich Village unleashed the pent-up anger of the homosexual community and started the modern gay-rights movement, homosexual men and lesbians say that laws, court decisions and changing attitudes have helped them move closer to the mainstream of society.

LEAD: THE Sheraton Stamford Hotel and Towers, on a Monday afternoon, breathed the quiet of a slowly filling hotel. A few people clustered at the front desk, a car or two slithered up outside. The gift shop was deserted, and only a couple of stragglers were dining in the lobby restaurants.

LEAD: A SMALL group of men and women sat around a table in a dimly lighted Italian restaurant in northern Westchester, sipping beer and commiserating about life as illegal aliens. All had come from Ireland within the last few years and their accents were still laced with a brogue.

LEAD: After months of speculation, the Nets have finally traded Buck Williams. And in the process, they have taken a major gamble.

LEAD: EVER since Brian J. Fifelski discovered last year that he could save thousands of dollars on his mortgage by adding a few dollars to each monthly payment, he has been ''telling everyone in sight'' about accelerated loan payoffs.