October 8, 1995

URBAN VISTA 3 Phantom buildings: a touch of the past in the present.

URBAN VISTA 3 Phantom buildings: a touch of the past in the present. NEW YORKERS & CO. 4 Mort Berkowitz, a 20-year veteran of street fair management, encounters some stormy weather. LETTERS 13 PLAYING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD 15 A Public spectacle in Astor Place; briefly shown films get another shot in Astoria. MOVIE CLOCK 14 What's showing at the local movie houses, today through Thursday. GOOD EATING 16 The tour of midtown west: braised wild boar at Borsalino; fondue with confidence at La Bonne Soupe. SOAPBOX 17 If graffiti is wrong, how can placing ads on school buses be right? And the story of a little boy and an ugly chair.

WITH elections for Suffolk County Executive and all 18 seats in the County Legislature next month, a retiring incumbent has altered the political landscape by questioning whether Suffolk can do without $35 million in sales-tax revenue next year. The legislator, Herbert W. Davis, 66, Republican of Yaphank whose term expires in December, said he would withhold support for a proposal by County Executive Robert J. Gaffney, also a Republican, to forgo the revenue until he saw evidence that the loss would not result in unexpected property-tax increases, increased borrowing or a 1996 county budget that would lack the money to deliver what it promised.

A DECADE after General Motors created the Saturn Corporation as a separate company to build and sell small cars in a new way, there is considerable evidence of its success. Customers snap up every available Saturn at list price, and they speak enthusiastically, without prompting, about the "Saturn spirit." Some 44,000 owners and families attended a "homecoming" last summer at the company's plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., and another 130,000 took part in festivities at local dealerships. The company says 75 percent of its buyers are people who never previously considered a G.M. product.

A DECADE after General Motors created the Saturn Corporation as a separate company to build and sell small cars in a new way, there is considerable evidence of its success. Customers snap up every available Saturn at list price, and they speak enthusiastically, without prompting, about the "Saturn spirit." Some 44,000 owners and families attended a "homecoming" last summer at the company's plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., and another 130,000 took part in festivities at local dealerships. The company says 75 percent of its buyers are people who never previously considered a G.M. product.

URBAN VISTA 3 Phantom buildings: a touch of the past in the present. NEW YORKERS & CO. 4 Mort Berkowitz, a 20-year veteran of street fair management, encounters some stormy weather. LETTERS 13 PLAYING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD 15 A Public spectacle in Astor Place; briefly shown films get another shot in Astoria. MOVIE CLOCK 14 What's showing at the local movie houses, today through Thursday. GOOD EATING 16 The tour of midtown west: braised wild boar at Borsalino; fondue with confidence at La Bonne Soupe. SOAPBOX 17 If graffiti is wrong, how can placing ads on school buses be right? And the story of a little boy and an ugly chair.

IF ever a company looked after the interests of its home city, Eastman Kodak did. The company's principal founder a century ago, George Eastman, had no children and instead nurtured Rochester like a doting uncle. He gave away more than $100 million -- about $1 billion in today's dollars -- mainly to schools, the University of Rochester and local hospitals. He helped start the organization that became the United Way in Rochester. One year he even paid to remove the tonsils of every child in town. After Eastman died in 1932, his company remained a model of civic sensibility. It resisted the temptation to use its size to negotiate for cheaper medical care for its Rochester employees, a tactic that would mean higher prices for individuals who did not work for Kodak and most small businesses and might push some companies to eliminate health benefits entirely. Many health-care experts have praised the company for an all-for-one and one-for-all spirit that has meant, among other things, that only about 7 percent of area residents do not have health insurance, compared with 15 percent nationally. In all, the move was seen as a fitting legacy of Mr. Eastman, who, according to historians, said "I want to make Rochester the best city in which to live and work."

Sometimes the Yankees have been remarkable during their unforgettable revival and sometimes they have been resilient. Always, they have been memorable. Against the Mariners on Sunday night, the Yankees must be all of these or their topsy-turvy season will finally stop spinning.

In the long history of Columbia football, which began in 1875 under Coach Stuyvesant Fish, there have been glorious moments. Start with the 1934 upset of Stanford in the Rose Bowl. Add the 21-20 upset of Army in 1947, ending the Cadets' 32-game unbeaten streak. "I think this one ranks right up there," said Ray Tellier, the Columbia coach, "one of our best all-time wins."

The Board of Education voted last night to select Rudolph F. Crew, the Superintendent of Schools in Tacoma, Wash., as the next chancellor of New York City's public schools, sealing at least for now a cease-fire reached with Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani after months of recrimination and political tumult. At the board's headquarters in Brooklyn, Carol A. Gresser, the board's president, announced that Dr. Crew would accept the job and would issue a statement today. At the same time, however, the board in Tacoma has insisted that he honor his newly extended contract.

Reflection in Okinawa A "day of reflection" on American bases in Okinawa did not silence concerns given new impetus by the rape of a schoolgirl. Page 3. Nunn to Announce His Plans Senator Sam Nunn, one of the last Democratic links to a disaffected Georgia electorate, may announce his retirement on Monday. Page 20.

The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau may soon be vacating their headquarters on Columbus Circle, as city officials said last week that they were preparing to turn over building to the private sector, probably sometime next year. Forrest Taylor, the chief of staff for John S. Dyson, the city's Deputy Mayor for Finance and Economic Development, said that the city was in the process of preparing a request for proposals to develop the site. That could mean that the building will be sold or leased or possibly even given away. The request should be ready by spring, Mr. Taylor said.