July 24, 1992

PASSENGER TAX APPROVED In a move described as the "necessary first step" to building a road and rail system to speed travel to and from Kennedy, La Guardia and Newark airports, the Federal Government yesterday approved a $3 passenger tax to finance the initial stages of the plan. A1. NEW YORK CITY INQUIRY FAULTS HANDLING OF ESTATES More than four years after a state report found widespread mismanagement and theft in the handling of certain estates in New York City, a follow-up investigation has found that the problems largely continue and in some cases have worsened. The new investigation found problems ranging from unexplained delays in the handling of the estates to using estate funds to pay office and personal expenses. A1. CONCERNS OVER TAXI INQUIRY Weeks before more than half of New York City's taxi inspectors were arrested on charges of accepting bribes, officials of the Taxi and Limousine Commission expressed grave concerns that the investigation was taking too long, delaying steps to fix the problem, officials said. B3. TRYING TO BE LIKE LENNY The words were those of the philosopher-comic Lenny Bruce, working out, in his thoughtfully meandering, ungrammatical, quietly savage way, a facet of his obsession -- the hypocrisy of those who determine what is fit to be discussed in public.. B3. TRUMP'S WATERFRONT PLAN VOTED DOWN A community board voted 35 to 1 last night against Donald J. Trump's plan for Manhattan's largest undeveloped waterfront property, a plan that would add nearly 6,000 apartments and an office building to a neighborhood many residents say is too crowded. B4. BEHIND THE BEAUTY OF BALLET A curtain parted on the private world of the ballet on Tuesday to reveal that ballet stars, for all their glamour, are merely mortal. C3. U.S. rejects Mayor Dinkins's request to stop work at burial site. B4. The Mayor prepares for a tense week on S.I. B6. REGION GUN LAW REVISITED The New Jersey State Senate put the finishing touches on legislation to again make it legal to own and transport military-style semiautomatic assault weapons. The bill, which Governor Florio said he would veto, would also allow the owners of assault weapons to pass them on to their heirs. B5. TELEVISION FOR THE PUBLIC Money was on the minds of Republican legislators when they began looking for a way to dispose of the state-subsidized New Jersey Network. And money was the issue again as they heard a proposal from WNET, Channel 13, for merging the operations of the two public television stations. B5. FILLING A VACANCY "She's got a tough job ahead of her," Gov. Jim Florio said in introducing Zulima V. Farber, his choice to be New Jersey's Public Advocate and Public Defender. She would replace Wilfredo Caraballo, who announced his resignation on July 1, the same day a Republican budget took effect, stripping the Office of the Public Advocate of much of its power. B5. GETTING STRICT ON SUBSIDIES A top N.J. Transit official promised to tighten up a bus subsidy program in the wake of charges that the owner of two companies misappropriated more than $1 million. B6. Our Towns by William Glaberson B5 Chronicle B6

LEAVE it to the Municipal Art Society to mount a tasteful political protest. Last week, when the Democrats were in town, the members of this century-old organization of civic do-gooders didn't surround Madison Square Garden with bullhorns or scrawled posters. Instead they occupied the decorous Urban Center Galleries and opened a dignified rally of a show. Its theme is New York's tradition of great public works; its purpose is to stimulate ideas for reviving that tradition. "Steel, Stone and Backbone," which runs through Sept. 19, is a protest against recessionary thinking. It's a strike against the idea that in hard economic times people should lower their expectations about what kind of city they want to live in. In fact, the point of the show is to offer historical proof to the contrary. When the going gets tough, the tough get ambitious about architecture. Much of the New York that is most admired -- its water and transportation systems, housing, cultural institutions -- emerged from periods of economic crisis.

More than four years after a state report found widespread mismanagement and theft in the handling of certain estates in New York City, a follow-up investigation has found that the problems remain largely unabated and in some cases have worsened. The estates at issue are those in which there was either no will or a will whose terms could not be executed. Thus, they fell under the supervision of public administrators, appointed officials assigned by the Surrogate's Court in each of the city's five boroughs.

Companies Delta Air Lines lost $180.2 million for its fourth quarter, and said it would reduce its work force of 80,000 by 5 percent. The loss followed poor performances by other domestic airlines. [ Page D1. ] Digital Equipment lost $1.85 billion, including a $1.5 billion charge to cover further reductions in personnel and operations. The loss was one of the largest in computer industry history. [ D3. ]

Plan for Ultimatum to Iraq Western allies prepared an ultimatum to gain entry to a building where Iraq may be hiding missile secrets, but the timing is unclear. Page A6. House Backs Cable TV Limits The House overwhelmingly approved legislation that would allow regulators to limit price increases for basic cable television service. Page D1. Inquiry on AIDS-Like Illness Health officials are intensifying efforts to understand about 30 cases of an AIDS-like illness in patients with no sign of H.I.V. infection. Page D16. A U.N. Crisis of Its Own While battling world crises, the United Nations has acquired a dispute of its own, between the Security Council and the Secretary General. Page A3. Cubs 1, Commissioner 0 A judge blocked Commissioner Fay Vincent from ordering the Chicago Cubs to switch divisions. Page B9.