May 7, 1993

Comptroller Says She Erred Elizabeth Holtzman, the New York City Comptroller, said it was wrong for her office to recommend a bank company as a bond underwriter when she owed it money. Page B1. 2 Yonkers Officers Charged A Federal grand jury charged two Yonkers policemen with civil rights violations in three beatings. Page B5. Knicks Eliminate Pacers The Knicks beat Indiana in overtime, 109-100, and will face Charlotte in the second round of the National Basketball Association playoffs. Page B7.

While a resurgent Islam is at center stage in much of the world, Muslims in the United States tend to focus on issues much closer to home, and sometimes in the home. Many analysts think the growing Muslim presence in America will strengthen conservative causes. Last of four articles, page A20.

At a time when the Offtrack Betting Corporation is in dire need of fresh profits, its wagering parlor in Chinatown is a daily festival of gambling risk, the city's most crowded and lucrative street parlor where, unfortunately, the clerks cannot handle all the betting action that lines up as each race approaches. This is precisely when a half-dozen illegal bookmakers get busiest, right there in the lobby of the Chatham Square parlor, brazenly using OTB's own betting slips to secure a steady fortune in illicit, on-site wagerings.

The productivity of American factories soared in the first quarter, an upbeat sign for profits and another indication that the drive to make American manufacturing leaner and more competitive has continued into the 1990's. Spurts in the production of computers and cars helped push up output per hour in the manufacturing sector, which makes up about a fifth of the economy, at an annual rate of 4.8 percent in the quarter, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday.

The Federal Government has notified Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield that its handling of $1.7 billion in Medicare claims for doctors' services has been so poor for the last three years that Empire's contract for the processing may be canceled, Government officials said yesterday. Losing the contract, which Empire and its predecessors have held for decades, could cost the financially troubled company $63 million at a time when its reserves have dwindled to a level that regulators consider dangerous.