When the mayor decided to reach out to Patrick Dorismond's family, he took a call from a Franciscan who'd been on hold for weeks.

Who is Ann Godoff? At 30, the president of Random House was an aimless temp. At 40, she was quietly editing for the two biggest party boys in publishing. By 50, she'd beaten all comers to lead the most important imprint in the book business. How'd she do it? Well, she doesn't want to talk about it.

Real Estate 2002: For a few smoky months, TriBeCa's glory days as the city's most glamorous nexus of art and commerce seemed over. But downtown life is slowly returning to normal -- and so are loft prices.

By bankrolling Sidney Lumet's return to television, A&E is importing the Miramax method to basic cable -- top talent at bargain prices.

Will Sean 'Puffy' Combs pay $2 million to end his City College nightmare?

Go ahead, call him a loudmouth. Al Sharpton doesn't mind-- it just proves you've been listening.

Schools chancellor Harold Levy came in as the consummate manager; he'll probably depart as martyred by the job as any of his predecessors.

Blue blood Benno Schmidt shook up Yale and struggled with the Edison Project, the for-profit school venture. CUNY is his third try at reforming American education. Will his tough-love standards save it or destroy it?