Daily News from New York, New York • 253

DAIL NEW News Bureau (718) 822-1174 Fax (718) 822-1562 Home Delivery 1-800-692-NEWS UuU kjU Sg)DlD0a(S2 life Dflti ft By FRANK LOMBARDI and BOB KAPPSTATTER nization engages in what could have been a very bloody battle to choose a new party chief. Ramirez, who would have had to step down as party boss to run for borough president, was quick to crack the leadership whip yesterday. He warned maverick wanna-bes they would feel the party's sting if they challenge whomever the party leadership chooses as "a consensus candidate" for borough president City Councilman Israel Ruiz has already officially announced he'll run for borough president, party backing or not, and yesterday, Councilman Jose Rivera actively began soliciting support Ruiz said he wants Ramirez' support but will stay in the race for the post "no matter who runs or doesn't run." Other possible candidates are Coun-cilwoman June Eisland, Assemblymen Jeffrey Klein and Stephen Kaufman and Deputy Housing Commissioner Shirley Rodriguez Remeneski. At county headquarters in Westchester Square yesterday, Ramirez called it "perhaps the most difficult decision that I have had to make during the last 17 years that I have been working either as an activist, as a candidate or as an Assembly member and then as a county leader." Surrendering party leadership could have splintered a party that he has unified through a combination of rewards to loyalists and banishment from office for others. It also would have meant leaving the state Assembly, where he has gained seniority.

Perhaps most compelling, he has now positioned himself for even greater political clout when term limits for city elected officials begin in 2001. Those elected officials with two terms under their belts will have to step aside, leaving county bosses largely in control of who gets nominated and elected to the scores of vacant City Council seats. The bosses will also then be able to broker who becomes the new speaker. Daily News Staff Writers Bronx Democratic Party boss Ro- berto Ramirez changed the face of the borough's political landscape yester-: day by staying right where he is. He said he will remain county leader i rather than seek to succeed Borough President Fernando Ferrer, who is i running for mayor.

The decision throws open the bor-1 ough president's race and leaves party leaders wondering who will emerge as the Democratic candidate. It also saves Ferrer the embarrass-i ment of running for mayor while his i own potentially fractious county orga- sfc mm I If 1 'IIP The new terminal will take up 19,000 square feet most of which will be an enormous waiting room. Some 8,000 square feet will be occupied by concessions, such as snack bars and newsstands. The terminal will be built on the site of the temporary facility. It will have three slips, the same number as the temporary facility.

It will have improved links to mass transit There will be direct access from the terminal to the South Ferry subway station and the No. 1 and 9 trains. A covered walkway will be built to the BMT Whitehall St station. By MARY ENCELS Special to The News After years of haggling with architects, the city has selected a new design for the Whitehall Ferry Terminal that features a glass-walled facade and sweeping views of lower Manhattan and New York Harbor. The $81 million terminal is expected to be completed by 2003.

Some 60,000 Staten Island commuters a day have been using a temporary station since a 1991 fire destroyed the old terminal. "We wanted this terminal to be a beacon of light for both the commuters and the tourists who travel on the ferry," said architect Fred Schwartz. The design was finalized by half of the team that was selected in a city-sponsored competition in 1992. Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates withdrew from the project after two earlier designs one featuring a huge clock and another an electronic message board were rejected. The remaining firm, Anderson Schwartz Architects of New York, chose a glass facade.

Access to the terminal will be by six escalators, three stairways and an elevator for the disabled. Schwartz also said "five traffic islands would be eliminated, and in their place a new Peter Minuit Grand I WAY TO GO: Artist's vision of what $81 million Whitehall Terminal will look like. Plaza would be installed" for cars and pedestrians. Canopies and benches along the sides of the plaza in South Ferry will shelter commuters during bad weather. Work on the project will be done in three phases.

Some Staten Island ferry riders got a chance to see the new designs and voice their opinions at a meeting last week at Borough Hall. More than 100 people jammed the small second-floor courtroom, and most seemed pleased with what they saw. But groans rippled through the crowd when Pamela Holzapfel, project manager for the city Economic Development said construction would not be completed "until about 2003." "We are doing everything to get it done as quickly as possible, but one can't always anticipate any bottlenecks that may occur along the way," she said. In the meantime, the present Whitehall terminal is due for some improvements. Staten Island ferry director John Giaccio said plans include fixing a leaky roof, installing new doors and lighting and resurfacing walkways.

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