Newsday from New York, New York • 21

i frf v- -i CITY Bishop Says Fight Against Racism Starts in Church By Merle English Bishop Francis Mugavero, head of the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, called racism a sin and a radical evil at odds with Christian life and said the effort to ease racial tensions in the city must begin in the neighborhoods and involve the church. In a statement he will deliver today at the first in a series of meetings called to address concerns raised by black Catholics at a recent national congress in Washington, Mugavero said the occasion presented an opportunity, to address a matter that has been disturbing me and, I trust, all people of conscience in Brooklyn and Queens, and that is the sin of racism. A true effort Mugavero to ease racial tensions must begin with the people in their neighborhoods he said. The president, the mayor and even I can make speeches, but it must begin on the local level We have to educate all people that we are A A equal in Gods sight. We have to work on a community level, and the Church has to be involved.

Mugaveros statement came in the wake of a call by Special Prosecutor Charles Hynes, urging Catholic leaders to exert the moral leadership of the Church to the point of saturation at Sunday mass Religious leadership, Jew, Christian and Moslem, have not been as aggressive as they ought to be, not only on the question of racism but on bias in general. Frank DeRosa, a diocesan spokesman, said Mugaveros statement was unrelated to Hynes remarks, and that Mugavero would have no response to what Hynes said. In an interview in the Jan. 9 issue of The Tablet, the weekly newspaper of the diocese, Hynes, who prosecuted the defendants in the Howard Beach racial attack trial in which three teens were convicted of manslaughter, said he agreed with the Rev. Lawrence Lucas, the outspoken and controversial pastor of Resurrection Roman Catholic Church in Harlem, that the Catholic Church has not done nearly enough to raise its moral voice in the area of racism in this city.

All Steamed Up Downtown Building provides passing relief yesterday. Revision May Save Battery Place Project I A steam grate in front of the Federal from the cold for several pedestrians Ruling Means Ex-Boxer Is Free Newark (AP) The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday let stand a decision freeing Rubin (Hurricane) Carter, the ex-boxer whose racially charged 1966 triple-murder conviction became a celebrated cause. The court refused to consider the appeal of a federal judges decision that found the conviction was tainted by both racism and the withholding of information by prosecutors from the defense. The Passaic County prosecutors office could seek a third trial for Carter, 50, and his alleged accomplice, whose convictions were first overturned by the New Jersey Supreme Court before a 1976 retrial, but defense attorneys consider that unlikely.

Carter, a former middleweight contender, has been living in seclusion since being freed by the federal judge here in 1985 and will not comment at least until the decision on a retrial is made, attorney Myron Beldock said. Our client cherishes his freedom and his privacy, and is enjoying life at this moment more than he ever eqjoyed it before, said CO 'j. I By Laura L. Castro and Paul Marinaccio The city took steps yesterday to unravel a snagged plan to place a restaurant complex on a historic pier on the Hudson River at the foot of Battery Place. Private analysts said the plan to attract investment for a restaurant and other food services at Pier the last masonry-arched pier in the city, represented a potential magnet for tourists and a measure of economic diversification.

At this point, what you don't need is another office building, said Stephen J. Brener, a hotel-industry analyst who has followed the Battery Park area development. Through the city Public Development the Koch administration yesterday asked developers to submit plans for the site. In addition to a restaurant, the site would house Fire Department boats and some offices. The city also wants to reserve space for a visitors center.

This is a retail and cultural project, said PDC President James P. Stuckey, who estimated the project will cost 510 million. He said he is optimistic the project will succeed because of its proximity to tourist attractions such as the Statue of Liberty. In 1984, a California-based restaurant chain called The Chart House signed a lease to develop a restaurant for $6 million. But delays resulted in cost increases that the chain wasnt prepared to accept, officials said.

Before, the, developer, was Jbeing -asked to do the entire but Rubin (Hurricane) Carter Acting Passaic County Prosecutor John P. Gocefjak said a decision to retry Carter and John Artis will be made in several weeks after discussions with the state attorney generals office, which supervises county prosecutors. The case became a cause in the 1970s, with Bob Dylan singing of racial injustice in his song The Ballad of Hurricane and celebrities such as Ellen Burstyn and Muhammad Ali rallying to Carters side. Carter had served 19 years of two consecutive life prison sentences before U.S. District Judge H.

Lee Sarokin threw out the convictions in 1985. Artis, 41, was paroled in 1981. He is serving a 6-year sentence after pleading guilty to drug charges last year. 5 3 to Newiday John Papaswn only asked to use a small amount of space to make profits from. Now, weve enlarged the amount of space available for the developer and brought in a state program to absorb some of the contruc-tion cost, Stuckey said, referring to the New York State Urban Cultural Parks program.

Any proposal involving the pier, built in 1886, must be weighed by the city Landmarks Preservation Commission. A spokeswoman there said the previous restaurant plan was compatible with the historic value of the pier. If that is the case with the winning proposal, private experts said. Pier A could prove attractive to tourists and stimulate other business..