March 10, 1992

Alexander's Inc., the budget department store chain that occupies some of the world's most valuable real estate, said yesterday that it was negotiating with its banks to revise its loan agreements and to increase its revolving credit lines in an effort to shore up its faltering business. In a statement, Alexander's said it had failed to meet all the requirements of some of the loan agreements that it is hoping to renegotiate with its group of banks led by Chemical Bank.

New Jersey lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have introduced a spate of bills that attempts to legislate the conduct, and in some instances the morals, of the state's young people and increase the liability of parents who allow their children to stay out late or consistently play hooky. Wending through the Legislature are bills that would require high school seniors to perform community service as a condition of graduation; authorize municipalities to enact curfews; increase the penalties for parents who fail to insure that children attend school; require parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor, and allow high school officials to institute mandatory steroid testing for athletes.

NEW YORK CITY GOTTI LAWYER OUNTERATTACKS A defense lawyer scornfully attacked the credibility of Salvatore Gravano, challenging his testimony that four gunmen all wore white raincoats and Russian fur hats when they killed Paul Castellano, boss of the Gambino organized-crime family. But Mr. Gravano, a Mafia turncoat testifying as the prosecution's main witness against John Gotti, stuck to his story. B3.

Companies Leaders of some of the nation's largest law firms disagreed whether Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler needed to settle a Federal ethics lawsuit quickly. But the firm said it was faced with possible collapse if it waited. [ Page A1. ]

Winning the right to review some financial data in the deal, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation reversed course yesterday and agreed to support a plan allowing Michael R. Milken, along with hundreds of other former executives of Drexel Burnham Lambert and Drexel's insurers, to put up $1.3 billion to settle all civil litigation against them. Although the basic economic terms of the settlement were not changed, the F.D.I.C. will now be allowed to review some information about the net worth of Mr. Milken and some of the other executives.