October 26, 1994

When Peter Spagnuolo first saw the building on East 13th Street that he now calls home it was little more than a roofless hulk -- burned by arsonists and stripped by vandals of its wiring, windows and bathroom and kitchen fixtures. The city, which owned the building, paid little attention as Mr. Spagnuolo and others who needed places to live dug out the garbage and debris, rebuilt the roof, reconnected plumbing lines and wiring and put back kitchens and bathrooms.

Outboard Marine disappointed Wall Street yesterday. Well, most of Wall Street, because someone evidently had advance word and jumped ship early. Outboard, a maker of boat engines, largely for the leisure market, disclosed in a news release after the market closed on Monday that earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended on Sept. 30, would be well below estimates.

A coalition of New Jersey ministers and civil-rights advocates yesterday urged sponsors to boycott a talk show on WABC-AM radio whose host, they maintained, regularly makes racist remarks. Their demands come as one advertiser, New Jersey Transit, said it was taking a second look at whether to advertise on the show. Rick Remington, a spokesman for New Jersey Transit, the state agency that operates commuter trains and buses, said the decision "was prompted by the concerns raised by the black ministers last Friday" at the State House in Trenton.

China's Nuclear Future China must make decisions about the financing and shape of its nuclear arms program in the absence of a strategic enemy. Page A10. Duel of Endorsements Senator Charles S. Robb of Virginia and Oliver L. North engage in a battle of endorsements. Page A25. Cone Wins Cy Young David Cone of Kansas City edged the Yankees' Jimmy Key for American League pitching honors. Page B15.

In a vivid piece of political theater, Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts attacked his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, tonight for his views on abortion, health care and Social Security. "I am pro-choice," Mr. Kennedy said during an exchange on abortion. "My opponent is multiple choice."