April 27, 2004

New York Univ student Steve Stanzak, who is homeless, has been sleeping in school's Bobst Library for last eight months; says his parents are not contributing to his education and that he took refuge in library after being denied adequate financial aid; NYU officials, learning of his Web site and online diary, give him free room in one of their residence halls for rest of semester; Stanzak, 20, is creative writing and music major who made dean's list last semester; says he is surprised by attention he has received after article about him appeared in campus newspaper; photo (M)

Dr George Koch, Northern Arizona University physiological ecologist, leads study that confirms longstanding theory that obstacle to trees continuing to grow higher is inability to get water to top of tree; research, published in journal Nature, studies tallest living tree in world; 369-foot-high redwood is in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California; drawing (M)

Boeing Co says Japan's All Nippon Airways has ordered 50 of its new 7E7 airplane; deal is estimated at $6 billion; photo (M)

Harvey Araton Sports of The Times column contends that New York Knicks need to build around guard Stephon Marbury if team wants to compete against teams like New Jersey Nets; photo (M)

Mayor Michael P Bloomberg releases $46.9 billion budget proposal for New York City that foresees surplus of $1.3 billion this year to help finance tax breaks for homeowners and wage increases for all city workers; city expects to take in $791 million more in tax revenues for fiscal year that ends in June than it had anticipated in Jan, from surging profits on reinvigorated Wall St, increase in property tax and booming real estate market; Bloomberg, who has made fiscal prudence centerpice of his administration, now finds himself in unaccustomed position of competing with City Council to find ways of spending hundreds of millions of dollars instead of cutting budget, as he has had to do since taking office in 2002; City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, likely Democratic candidate for mayor in 2005, has proposed more permanent rollback on property taxes and more than $300 million in additional spending throughout city government; chart (M)