Daily News from New York, New York • 3

(9 era linn OQ By STEWART AIN and JAMES HARNEY Two veteran cops were arrested yesterday in connection with a hit-and-run in which an 11-year-old Queens girl was struck by an unmarked police car. The alleged driver, Officer John Saporita, 44, of Yaphank, L.I., was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, falsifying police reports and tampering A 0g mi 3 I I V' side his assigned area when the accident occurred. Sapor-ita's lawyer, Jeffrey VVasser-man, refused to discuss his client's whereabouts at the time. At the officers' arraign-( ment, Assistant District Attorney Joseph Keenan revealed that Saporita was never positively identified by witnesses shown photos. Saporita has been assigned to Highway 3 for jnine years and has three commendations.

Stevenson, a cop since January 1973, has been assigned to Highway 3 since January 1982, and has 11 commendations. Both are married. with police records. Officer Robert Stevenson, 43, of Medford, L.I., a desk officer, was charged with tampering with police re-' cords. He was not in the car, according to the indictment The officers, who were suspended without pay, surrendered yesterday at the office of Queens District Attorney John SantuccL They pleaded innocent in Queens Supreme Court and were released in their own recognizance.

The charges stemmed from an investigation of the April 27 hit-and-run in which Tara Buzzell of 133-44 Hook Creek Rosedale, was struck while she was riding her bike. The girl suffered injuries to her knees, right arm and shoulder. THE ACCIDENT occurred at 5:55 p.m. near 136th Ave. and 244th St.

Saporita was driving the grey 1981 Plymouth sedan that struck the girl, the Indictment 70 CARMINE DONOFRIO DAILY NEWS Robert Stevenson (center), charged with falsifying records. 'Her shoulder leg still bother her' Brooklyn's plague of hit-run Incidents, page B. charged. Witnesses said the car slowed, then sped off. The indictment alleged that Saporita drove back to his command.

Highway 3 at Grand Central Parkway and Francis Lewis Blvd. in Queens, and parked the police car, then reported to Stevenson, the desk officer, about 6 p.m. Saporita allegedly told Stevenson to log him into the roll call book as having returned at 5:15 p.m. 40 minutes before the accident Stevenson made that false notation, the charges state. also allegedly falsified records in the Highway 3 daily activities report and in his memo book to give himself an alibi.

IN ANNOUNCING the in- I ditjjtment Santucci said I Saporita was 4 miles out- WILLIAM LaFORCC Jf DAILY MEWS wiitk wm St 'V I i i tar By LARRY CELONA and JAMES HARNEY "He didn't even stop and call an ambulance. He just kept going; was like he ran over a dog. He's a cop. He's supposed to protect her, not harm story oner By OWEN MORITZ Urban Aflairt Editor The City Planning Commission yesterday approved a $170 million, 70-story office and residential tower that would go up behind the landmark City Center on W. 55th St The 799 foot-high building would be the tallest residential structure in the city, eclipsing the 68-story Trump Tower, and one of the tallest skyscrapers overall.

The building would match, the RCA Building in number of floors and be exceeded in height only by the 113-story World Trade Center, 102-story Empire State Building, 77-story Chrysler Building and the 71-story 40 Wall Tower. The commission approval, by a 4-to-2 vote, clears the way for Board of Estimate action later this summer. BROOKLYN developer Bruce Eichner had bought the air rights over the nonprofit City Center for $11.5 million last year. Under terms of the deal, the $11.5 million will be di- vided among the New York City Ballet, the New York City Opera and the City Center itself. The Eichner building's en-1 trance would be on 53th between Sixth and Seventh i and is designed to con- tain 23 commercial and 47 residential floors.

I A 65-story skyscraper 1s being built down the street by controversial developer Harry Macklowe. Together the two towers will mean extraordinary congestion for narrow St. her." Elizabeth Buzzell is still bitter when she speaks of April 27, the day her 11-year-old daughter, Tara, was knocked off her bike near their Rosedale, Queens, home by an unmarked police car that sped away. But Buzzell said she was satisfied yesterday when told that two veteran cops had been indicted in connection with the incident One officer was charged with leaving the scene of the accident, and he and his desk officer were charged with falsifying records concerning where the car and its driver were at the time of the accident "Good. I'm very happy," Buzzell told the Daily News.

"I want to make sure those guys pay for what they did to my daughter. Maybe he just panicked and took but if he's a cop, he should "know better." OFFICERS John Saporita and Robert Stevenson of Highway Unit 3 in Queens surrendered to authorities yesterday. Saporita allegedly drove the car that struck Tara. The girl said yesterday that the person who struck her "shouldn't have left the scene. He should have stayed around to see if I was okay.

He probably didn't want to jeopardize his career, but that (leaving the scene) wasn't too smart." After the accident, Tara spent three weeks at home recuperating from knee and arm Injuries, but returned in time to give the valedictory speech at her sixth-grade graduation at PS 38. "Her shoulder and her leg still bother her," Buzzell said. "And now it seems like she's afraid to go outside. I hope I never run into him (the driver). He almost killed my How could he looklme -in the face?" xlX.

Elizabeth Buzzell and daughter, Tara, after the hit-run..