Daily News from New York, New York • 33

A shopping pi aza to a king's taste iin i t-t -tt i ft 57 ry- ttr liiliiil pi rJJ v-u if A i By ISABEL FORGANG Kings Plaza Shopping Center, though far from finished and still the target of demonstrators when it opened with considerable fanfare Sept. 11, is now near completion. With its final shape in sight, an appraisal can be made of its strong and weak points. Already, at least 79 of the eventual 125 stores on the 23-acre Mill Basin site in Brooklyn are in operation. The rest are expected to be open by Jan.

1. The first such shopping center inside New Yok City limits, the $50 million plaza is totally enclosed and temperature controlled. Visitors generally are enthusiastic about the clean, modern appearance of the spanking new center. They find it accessible and streamlined, with a variety of shops (including 19 shoe stores and 35 clothing stores). Although public transportation is available to the location at Flatbush Ave.

and Avenue and thousands of neighbors are within walking distance, most shoppers thus far have come by auto. They often find parking a problem. Shoppers throng the aisles of Macy's and Alexander's or wander in and out of variety shops on the plaza's two-level mall in huge numbers in the afternoons and especially on Saturdays. Weekdays the parking garage is often filled by 12:30 p.m.; Saturdays are impossible, earlier. But the multi-level garage is free.

And there are plaza guards to direct traffic, supplemented by city police during peak hours. Many visitors have trouble finding their way about the center's maze. Some frankly confess to being lost. There are colorful directories on both levels of the mall. But abbreviations were unexplained, and there were complaints that directories were not very helpful in indicating where shoppers were or how to get where they wanted to go.

A you-are-here indicator similar to those on subway maps should be helpful. So would more maps that are more clearly detailed. Some visitors note the lack of specialty fashion stores. But there are all those shoe and clothing stores, plus seven furniture stores, 10 food shops, seven restaurants and multiple variety stores that are open or will be when the center is completed. The plaza still will be a treat on Sundays when shops close.

Strollers can visit the mall, take in a film at one of the two Century movie theaters now undr construction and dine at leisure. They even can take dishes home from one restaurant, Macy's unique Carving Board. Plastic plates and mugs are used only once there, then But notes on the tables advise diners are free to tote -them away in a waterproof bag. Although militants who sought to bar the plaza from their neighborhood have stopped picketing the shopping center, feelings still run high. Foes concede that they have lost the major battle.

But they object to such collateral problems as increased trucking, aggravated garbage and trash-disposal problems, an on-street parking squeeze and more traffic congestion. Residents of the newly bustling area have been partly pacified by the city's promise to install a traffic light on E. 55th extension of a traffic mall divider along Flatbush Ave. and changes in the direction of traffic on side streets. Shoppers rarely compliment salespeople, but one of the most frequent comments at Kings Plaza is- praise for the friendliness and helpfulness of store personnel.

Perhaps the best summary came, however, from a salesgirl. Happily surveying Macy's brightly lit bath shop, she said: "Everybody thinks I say I love the place because I work here. But that's not so. I love it for real." NEWS photo by Tom Middlsmlss 1 Some random opinions about Kings Plaza: "It's all here but what I miss most is a high-fashion store like Bonwit's or Lord Taylor." Adrienne he Vine "I like the variety the center improved the looks of the area Before, all you saw was gas stations and garages." Mrs. Josephine Friscia "It's U)o big but the help is very nice." Mrs.

Hazel Small "We like the convenience the people who come here, the salespeople and the type of merchandise. Everything is priced right. I wish I had more money." Mrs. Herman Feldman fl a fcy 1 wr i J1 I i fMAli' a- I iff Jt Tw! I Zl YW "i Jz) -pv d' Cowboy leather now for Hn chaps By ADDIS DURNING Leather, once the gear of cowboys and cycle gangs, is now finding its way into sophisticated society. According to Ken O'Keef Fashion Director of Men's Fashion Association: "Leather has gone through its rough days with ranchers and.

its black days with Hell's Angels. Now it is an accepted part of men's fashions." Nowadays leather can be elegant wear for the well-dressed office set as well as sportswear for the outdoor-man. It may be shearling-lined for rugged winter wear or the skin may be processed to a lighter, smoother weight for spring and summer days. Although it sometimes is combined with suede, less often with woolen materials, the trend is to design apparel of leather alone. Pigskin, long thought of as ideal for gloves, is one of the popular skins now being used successfully in suits, jeans, jackets and longer car or riding style country coats.

Will leather "catch on" and be accepted for standard business or office wear? Time will tell, but according to O'Keefe, "what's costume today is fashion tomorrow and then is seen so much it draws no comments." Leather is for all seasons. Suit of fan pigskin (right) is a two-button, single-breasted model with oversized bellows pockets. By Bert Paley. For outerwear (far right) "traditional" leather styling in a short jacket by Mighty-Mac. It features button cuffs and wide yoked pockets..