Daily News from New York, New York • 60

1 WW. SBP 500 7 NASDAQ 1,759.01 DOW JONES -d- 35.78 10,033.27 1,131.74 -hkX ft 1 ii By PAUL a COLFORD OAlty NEWS BUSINESS WRITER The waiting at The New York Times ended yesterday, but the guessing about what comes next did not. More than three months after The Tunes announced Howell Raines would be the next executive editor, the former i wri In. I L. innii oiinniiMTMMiar Ifflm'- ii Vnn mtnymmaivmA tx rnajTT editorial page editor occupied his new office and addressed applauding staffers for the first time as their boss.

Raines was to be listed MEDIA Library. "It's a revolution, not an evolution, within The Times' framework" because for the first time in memory, the outgoing executive editor was not handing over the job to his No. 2, said Alex Jones, co-author of a Times' history, "The Trust," and director of the Shorenstein Center on Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard. Jones was referring to Bill Keller, whom Boyd succeeded and who now will write for the op-ed page and The New York Times Magazine. "The way The Times works is that the executive editor and his managing editor together have about 85 of the decisionmaking authority," Jones added.

"And the fact is, Howell and Gerald, but especially Howell, are comfortable using their power and do not hesitate using it." Jones said there may be significant changes because Raines is new to the third-floor newsroom and inherits an editorial lineup fashioned by Lelyveld and Keller. Raines worked the past eight years on the 10th floor with the editorial board and six previous years in the Washington and London bureaus. "Given Howell's temperament, he's going to want to strike a tone and make an impression quickly," Jones added. "When he took over the editorial page in 1993, he went after Bill Clinton. So in the next few months I expect you'll see a new tone, energy and focus as Howell looks to I The Times newsroom, shown here in quieter times, was sere naded by band yesterday playing at Joseph Lelyveld's last day in power.

on the masthead today under publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. Meantime, Times watchers and staffers continued to wonder how Raines might reshuffle reporting assignments and editors. He told the staff there would be announcements next week, apparently signaling his first personnel moves. Raines became No. 1 at the same time former deputy managing editor Gerald Boyd, his choice of managing editor, took over the No.

2 job and settled into his new office. Raines, 58, succeeds Joseph Lelyveld, 64, who is retiring after 39 years with The Times, including seven as executive editor and a final festive day in power that brought a live band to the building. Lelyveld was to be honored last night at an invitation-only party at the New York Public sures of being the first Alabamian as executive editor of The Times." Writing in The Washington Post last week, columnist Robert Samuelson argued that Raines' job as editorial page editor should disqualify him from holding the top job. His editorial page "was pro-choice, pro-gun control and pro-campaign finance 'reform," Samuelson wrote. "In general, it has been critical of President Bush, especially his tax cut.

And because they are so public, Raines' positions compromise The Times' ability to act and appear fair-minded." make a statement." Speaking recently to the National Association of Black Journalists, Raines praised Boyd, 51, who advanced up the ladder since joining The Times in 1983 and remains the highest-ranking African American in the newsroom. Raines said they've been friends for years, adding, "I think Gerald and I will make a good team. He's already settled my jitters about this new job. You see, Gerald is used to being first. He's been a first his entire career in a number of positions, so he's helping me deal with the pres i'u lures- Investors torn by uncertainty 7 By JUDITH SCHOOLMAN DAILY NEWS BUSINESS WRITER Investors had trouble deciding whether to buy or sell yesterday amid fresh signs of surging U.S.

unemployment and higher worker productivity. Reports yesterday showed the economy continues to lose jobs as announced cutbacks surged 145 last month from a year earlier to 140,019. That brings the KRISTEN ARTZ total lay-off announcements this year to more than 1.1 million 83 more than the total for all of 2000, said outplacement I Boston Properties' Times Square Tower event WALL Wen toner on nay up By ERIC HERMAN and PAUL KB. SHIN EMU NEWS STAFF WRITERS The last office tower to rise at the Crossroads of the World formally began construction yesterday, as developer Boston Properties broke ground on a 48-story Times Square building. Times Square Tower will serve as New York headquarters for accounting firm Arthur Andersen, which will move 3,000 employees there by early 2004 at an initial cost of $67.50 per square foot.

"What was once the poster child for urban decay has not only become an entertainment mecca, it has become one of the hottest corporate addresses," said Michael Carey, president of the city's Economic Development Corporation. Times Square Tower will stand on the south side of 42nd Street between Seventh Avenue and Broadway. Skidmore, Owings Merrill designed the new building. firm Challenger, Gray Christmas. There included (L to Lou Salvatore, Arthur Andersen's New York chief, state econ czar Charles Gargano, Mortimer B.

Zuckerman, Gov. Pataki and Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields. were more telecom job cuts in August than in all of 2000. CM "There is no evidence reported by any industry that anything that could be called a significant sustainable rebound is on the horizon for this year or even into early next year," said CEO John Challenger.

Lay-off announcements for August were 32 below July. Those workers still on the job were more productive, the Labor Department reported, as the gauge of how much an employee produces per hour rose 2.1 in the second quarter. But Wall Street forecasts of declining sales of hightech gear due to threats of a world-wide economic slowdown kept investors on shaky footing.The Dow skirted the break-even point for most of yesterday, closing up 35.78 at 10,033.27. The Nasdaq fell 11.77 to 1,759.01. potential threat.

Office vacancies in Manhattan rose from 6.3 to 7.4 between April and June, according to CoStar Group. Already, Ernst Young has made plans to sublease a portion of its space at Boston Properties' 5 Times Square, which is nearly complete. "I think that any prudent person has to be somewhat concerned," said Robert Selsam, senior vice president of Boston Properties. But he added, "the fundamentals of real estate in New York are still terrific." The groundbreaking offered politicians and moguls the chance to marvel at the changes in Times Square. That has given rise to Douglas Durst's Four Times Square, the Rudin Organization's Reuters Building and Boston Properties' 5 Times Square.

(Boston Properties chairman, Mortimer B. Zuckerman, also is the chairman and co-publisher of the Daily News.) But while the booming New York economy helped developers find tenants, the slowdown now presents a.