Daily News from New York, New York • 32

iifrtfiiiii CM CO DOW JONES 8,298.92 500 1,382.94 878.29 -7 0 i til lrZS 1.871 las pirates gMj rw3 PriceI I 'Cash Credit Sar '-i' down, tafi will foe UMM By JUDITH SCHOOLMAN DAILY NEWS BUSINESS WRITER MICHAEL DABIN to see lower gas prices from recent highs with crude oil dropping. After falling nearly a dime a gallon since the Iraq war began, gas prices at the pump are expected to keep sliding into the summer, and will drop another 10 cents a gallon by the fall, a federal report shows. $1.70 a gallon this summer. New York pump prices hit a record average high of $1.91 on June 6, 2001. According to the Motor Gasoline Outlook, Americans will use about 1.6 more gas this summer than the year before, or some 9.18 million barrels a day.

Not only are war and threats of terrorism making local car travel more attractive, but there's been growth in the use of gas-guzzling SUVs, AAA's Sinclair said. Current gas prices reflect OPEC oil production, which is Still, drivers across the country will pay about 12 more this summer than a year ago or about $1.70 a gallon at New York City pumps, the government estimates. The drop is a tribute to the falling price of crude oil, which is refined into motor fuel and other petroleum products. Crude hit a high of nearly $40 a barrel on Feb. 27, and closed around $28 a barrel yesterday.

It has fallen 20 since the war began. Fire adds to AOL Time Warner woes real estate projects ill Drivers are expected ended March 17, right before the start of the war in Iraq. But in New York, where the average price for a gallon of unleaded is now $1.81, an official of AAA of New York refused to speculate what prices might look like. "There's so much volatility. It's all a factor of refining and distribution costs," said AAA spokesman Robert Sinclair.

A year ago, the average price per gallon in the city was $1,527 Based on a 12 increase over last year, prices could be around building commands high rents. Forstmann Little agreed to pay 1 15 per square foot more than double the average rent for midtown space, according to recent data from Cushman Wakefield to renew its lease on the 44th floor. The firm has 13,000 square feet. Still, Forstmann can afford the high rent. The mogul doled out nearly $50 million in scholarships for underprivileged children after abandoning a contemplated Senate race three years ago.

Gordon Ogden of Byrnam Wood represented Forstmann Little. InsigniaESG's Greg Knoop, Tom Kaufman and Richard Levy represented the GM Building. The building's co-owner, Donald Trump, won a round last week in his battle with Conseco, a bankrupt insurance company that owns a 50 stake in the GM Building. A bankruptcy judge sent the fight over control back to arbitration. WEST SIDE STORY The Hell's Kitchen residential boom continues.

A new 53-story apartment tower called the Biltmore, located at Eighth Avenue and 47th Street, has opened for renting. The building adds 464 apartments to a market showing signs of weak- AOL Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle can't seem catch a break. expected to remain at 26.5 million barrels a day for the rest of the year, the energy report said. But OPEC leaders have called an April 24 meeting, where they're expected to call for production cuts to keep prices high. Oil production is expected to decline in April because of the loss of exports from Iraq and Nigeria.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE are all running near capacity, the energy report added. Iraq stopped exporting 1.7 million barrels a day in mid-March, just before the U.S. invasion. 'i GARY USTORT through 7 were damaged. month for a studio; $2,530 to $3,700 for a one-bedroom; and $3,265 to $7,100 for a two-bedroom.

Ehermaneditrtydaifynews.com The government report projects that across the nation, a gallon of unleaded regular will cost about $1.56 a gallon this summer, up 17 cents from the same time last year and could touch $1.46 this fall. According to the Energy Information Administration's Motor Gasoline Outlook, the current U.S. average for a gallon of unleaded is $1.63. Prices at the pump hit a nationwide high of $1.73 in the week go, the $1.7 billion new were planned. The floors immediately beneath Jazz at Lincoln Center hold some of the project's 347,000 square feet of future retail space, including shopping and restaurants by Rande Ger-ber, Thomas Keller and Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

It was not clear if the fire hurt their space. "We don't feel it's going to impact the opening of the retail," said Bruce Warwick, president of Columbus Centre LLC, the project developer, affiliated with the Related Companies. The fire didn't damage any AOL Time Warner space, including the future studios for CNN. TEDDY'S PLACE Buyout billionaire Ted Forst-mann's company just signed a new lease for office space in the General Motors Building, located at Fifth Avenue and E. 59th according to brokers with knowledge of the deal.

Even in a depressed commercial leasing market, the GM A four-alarm fire ripped through the base of the complex yesterday morning, damaging the future home of Jazz at Lincoln Center and possibly charring portions of the shopping area. AOL Time Warner, set to be the primary tenant of the 2.1 million-square-foot complex, faces serious financial troubles. Yester- day's fire started in the base portion of the twin-towered structure, scheduled to be com THE REAL THING pleted this fall. It damaged the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh floors, according to a Fire Department spokesman. Investigators are focusing on electric space heaters in a work shanty on the fifth floor, according to a fire department source.

Jazz is to have 100,000 square feet on the sixth and seventh floors. But because of its complexity, the facility is not set to open until the fall of 2004, a spokeswoman said. A Jazz spokeswoman said no changes in the opening date a I Firefighters tackle AOL Time Warner Center ro C4 trouble Monday night. Floors 4 ness. The Jack Parker Organization and the Moinian Group developed the project.

Rents range from $1,840 to $2,200 per.