Daily News from New York, New York • 17

1 1 1 8 I 17 WO II is ITU i. By JERRY CASSIDY jr i f1' rf r-i GENE KAPPOCK DAILY NfcWS The scaffolding is in place for repairs to Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence they're up front i uracie, A Long Island nurse's aide who had her elderly patient murdered because she feared she would be cut out of the woman's will asked yesterday if she was "still going to get the $38,000" left her by her' victim. A prosecutor admitted the woman could indeed get the money. The issue came to light at yesterday's sentencing of Mary Bowen, 45, who was convicted of hiring two men to kill Mildred Cotter, 82, the widow of a New York City police lieutenant. BOWEN, OF Central Islip, had been accused of hiring Andre Cartier, 25, of Jamaica, Queens, and Roger Powell, 28, of Wyandanch, L.I.,, to strangle Cotter in the woman's Port Washington, L.I., home Oct.

18, 1981. Bowen was convicted of having Cotter killed because the widow had found out the nurse's aide was stealing money from her and Bowen feared she would be written out of the will. Yesterday, Bowen was given the maximum term of 25 years to life. In sentencing her, Nassau County Court Judge Harold Collins called the crime "one of the crudest and most despicable" he had ever seen. Bowen claims she is entitled to the money because it was in a "Totten Trust- form of joint bank account that takes the form of a bequest," said Assistant Nassau District Attorney Ed McCarty.

THE MONEY IS now in the hands of the Nassau Surrogate Court, where there is a claim on it from a niece of Cotter, officials said. McCarty admitted that Bowen could get the money if the surrogate rules the "bequest" was in effect before the murder. By KATHARINE LAKE porch that wraps around two sides of the house but was rotted from age and heavy use. Restoration of the porch is scheduled for completion in May. Archaeologists researching the torn-up porch site yesterday discovered an 18th century sewerage system under the house as well as some 18th century wine and pharmaceutical bottles that were used by the builder to fill in the foundations.

Those and other artifacts found earlier will probably be put on display in the mansion, archaeologist Ulana Zakalak said. Other conservancy construction programs planned for this year include modernizing the mansion's heating, plumbing and electrical systems, restoring the house's exterior and landscaping. The interior of the 1799 federal-style frame house also will be restored with a paint job and antique furnishings the conservancy also hopes to acquire through donations. The purpose of the renovation work is not only to restore and maintain one of New York's oldest landmarks, but also to make it a more workable and livable space for future mayors, according to Krulewitch. If you happen to see Mayor Koch slipping in and out the back door of Gracie Mansion during the next few weeks, don't be surprised.

Presumably, the mayor isn't holding secret meetings or making back-room deals. It's just that getting out the front door of the stately mayoral residence is a bit tricky these days because the badly sagging front porch has been removed as part of a two-year, $5 million restoration project that began earlier this month. Koch's office announced yesterday that the Gracie Mansion Conservancy, formed last July, so far has raised $1.26 million in private funds to refurbish the 184-year-old official residence. Another $970,000 has been contri-. buted by the city from its capital budget, and Deborah Krulewitch, executive director of the project, said the conservacy is optimistic about achieving its fund-raising goal.

On March 10, workers began removing shrubbery from the front of the house that overlooks the East River at 88th St. They also dismantled the elegantly columned If if BtrDaon wm ffoiredl afi pi By DANIEL O'GRADY and RICHARD ROSEN v. I vox. i r' Hospital. Ford ambushed the officers about 8:10 p.m.

after they pulled up to an Amoco gas station at Bruckner Blvd. and Edgewater Road, Hunts Point, Bronx, in response to a report of a man with a gun, Sullivan said. They were joined by Officers Jonathan Levine and John Byrne in another car. The burst of gunfire shattered the windows of one patrol car as the officers dove for cover. Ford kept crouching and firing as he ran to the Eastern Blvd.

bridge 30 yards away. He dropped the weapons and ammunition and leaped into the river as an officer fired one shot, which missed, police said. Ford's body was recovered about 1:30 a.m. and his pockets were crammed with ammunition, Sullivan said. Recovered near the bridge and the gas station were an Uzi submachine gun, two automatic weapons with snip-e'r sc6p'es six pistols, including three 9-mm.

automatics, and a duffel bag with more than 600 rounds. w3 I The body of a gunman who jumped from a bridge after ambushing four policemen and abandoning an arsenal of automatic weapons and ammunition was recovered yesterday from the Bronx River. The man was identified by his fingerprints as William Ford, 25, of Seneca Ave. He had a record of grand larceny, narcotics and felonious assault arrests, including one for throwing a garbage can at a 4 year-old child, said Chief of Detectives Frank Sullivan. Investigators had not determined a motive for the Monday night attack, in which Ford sprayed police with submachine-gun fire.

They said there was no evidence he was connected to terrorists. Officer William Connolly was grazed in the left elbow and his ner, Michael Rose, was struck by flying glass. They were treated in Jacobi 4 i -1 7 w- II" i.TM.i I ill Ml 1 1 IT Hi, I. HIT 111? mmmmm i. BILL CLIFFORD DAiLV NEWS.

Arsenal is displayed at Simpson St. police station, Bronx..