MANHATTAN

MAYOR ANNOUNCES CREATION OF BIOSCIENCE RESEARCH CENTER

Mayor Bloomberg and the president of the Economic Development Corporation, Andrew Alper, announced the proposed development of the East River Science Park, a bioscience research and development campus on a city-owned portion of the Bellevue Hospital Center. The EDC issued a request for proposals to develop the site, which is located in the Kips Bay neighborhood on the northern portion of the Bellevue Hospital Center, just south of the New York University Medical Center between East 28th and 29th streets and First Avenue and the FDR Drive. The New York City Investment Fund, an affiliate of the Partnership for New York City, which invests in businesses that fuel the local economy, will invest up to $10 million toward construction and financing of the East River Science Park.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

ALBANY

PATAKI: DEMS PROPOSAL DOESN’T GO ‘FAR ENOUGH’

Governor Pataki said yesterday a proposal from Assembly Democrats to toughen the state’s driving while-intoxicated statute does not go “remotely far enough” in giving some offenders serious prison time. Mr. Pataki said his bill, approved 61-0 earlier this year by the state Senate, is the answer in cases like the October accident in Queens in which an 11-year-old boy was killed and his 12-year-old friend was critically injured. The driver of the van that plowed into the boys as they crossed a street, 56-year-old John Wirta of Queens, was charged with misdemeanor drunken driving because there were no aggravating offenses, such as speeding or reckless driving, that could have allowed a more serious charge. Mr. Wirta faces up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

– Associated Press

BROOKLYN

PROSECUTORS TO EXPAND CHARGES AGAINST NORMAN

Prosecutors said yesterday they plan to expand charges in one of several corruption cases pending against Brooklyn Democratic Party Chairman Clarence Norman. In the case, Mr. Norman, a Brooklyn state assemblyman, stands accused of grand larceny for allegedly taking double reimbursements for car and gas expenses on trips to Albany. During a hearing in state Supreme Court in Brooklyn yesterday, prosecutor Michael Vecchione accused Mr. Norman of continuing the same activities that led to his arrest and indictment in that case. Mr. Vecchione alleged that Mr. Norman still is double-dipping on travel expenses. Prosecutors say that, as a result, a grand larceny charge against him will be expanded to accuse Mr. Norman of stealing more than $15,000 from the state. He currently is accused of stealing less than $6,000. Mr. Norman has pleaded not guilty in the case. “We don’t think anything he did rose to the level of prosecution, let alone a felony,” said a spokesman for Mr. Norman, Bob Liff. In separate cases, Mr. Norman faces charges that include stealing campaign money and strong-arming judicial candidates to pick specific campaign vendors.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

POLICE BLOTTER

MAN ACCUSED OF RAPING 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL

A man who leased a Midtown space for a hip hop-themed modeling and talent agency was arrested for raping a 14-year-old girl who was pursuing a career in modeling, police said. Charles Green, 35, of Brooklyn, is accused of raping the girl on two separate occasions in August when she went to a modeling agency, known variously as Urban Talent or Hip Hop Talent, where he worked at 255 W. 36th St., according to police. Mr. Green, who leased an office or cubicle space on the eighth floor for the purposes of running the agency, is accused of raping the girl when she visited him as a prospective model. According to police, the girl visited Mr. Green a second time, and he raped her again. Mr. Green turned himself in to police yesterday at 8:52 a.m.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

TWO ARRESTED IN QUEENS ON PROSTITUTION CHARGES

A pimp-madame pair were charged at Queens Criminal Court with trying to bribe police officers into sparing their house of prostitution from prosecution. Fook Yong Sik, 45, and Mary Tan, 42, both of Queens, handed out thousands of dollars to an undercover vice enforcement detective and promised monthly payments as part of a “controlled pad” to protect their illegal massage and prostitution parlor, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. Mr. Sik and Ms. Tan made five payments to the detective totaling $4,000 between September 24 and November 17 and promised monthly payments of $1,500 to prevent further police raids, according to the district attorney. Mr. Sik and Ms.Tan were arrested yesterday and were awaiting arraignment.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

ONE SHOT AT MIDTOWN NIGHTCLUB

A patron was shot and wounded inside a Midtown nightclub yesterday and the shooter remains at large, police said. “There are two people who had obviously had some kind of negative history together, and unfortunately this is how they chose to deal with it,” said a spokeswoman for Show Nightclub, Kelly Cutrone. A 36-year-old man was shot once in the stomach, and the shooter fled the nightclub. A .380-caliber shell was recovered at the scene, police said.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

FOUR TEENAGERS ARRESTED AFTER BRAWL AT SUBWAY STATION

Four teenagers, including a 15-year-old boy who was slashed in the face, were arrested after getting into a brawl at a Brooklyn subway platform yesterday, police said. Police said the fight broke out at 10:30 a.m. at the Utica Avenue stop of the A and C trains at Weeksville over a prior argument between the teenagers.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun