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Andre's Agony

It’s been widely reported that tennis great
Andre Agassi had been competing at this
year’s Open while anguishing over his sister
and mother’s bouts with breast cancer. Consequently, Agassi’s quick ouster was not
a surprise.

However the reigning champ’s loss had as
much to do with the glaringly underpublisized injuries that Agassi sustained in an early
summer automobile accident in his hometown
of Las Vegas. A USTA source tells us that
"When Andre returned home after playing Wimbledon, he got sideswiped on his own block by another car."

Agassi sustained multiple injuries, including a debilitating back injury. Doctors predicted that
he would fully recover in time to play at the US Open, "but the injuries haven’t healed as quickly as Andre had hoped, and the matter of the accident also has weighed on Andre heavily." The incident has remained hush hush since Agassi is the biggest thing in Vegas since Wayne Newton came to town. Local authorities have kept a lid on it, our sources tell us, " because the person who caused the crash is a friend and neighbor of Agassi’s, and the details of the accident are legally complicated, and embarrassing for this unknown person. Plus, Andre has had difficulty deciding what to do about it."

Unfortunately, New York tennis fanatics won’t get their dream Agassi v. Sampras finals. Sampras catches a break with Agassi out. Agassi returns home with girlfriend Steffi Graff there to support him through his hardship and the Open is left with Queens native John McEnroe’s verbal volleys to keep things interesting.

Cops And College

Lots of people inside and outside of the NYPD are wondering how Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s choice of Bernard Kerick will affect police recruitment requirements.

Police applicants are currently required to have 60 college credits to be considered for admission to the Police Academy. Those applicants who pass the written NYPD test, but who do not have the 60 credits, are placed on a waiting list for up to three years to give them time to "complete their education," sources said.

Kerick, an eight-year NYPD veteran, was appointed in 1986 without the benefit of a college degree. Kerick, a high school dropout, holds a GED (equivalency diploma). When questioned about Kerick’s lack of formal education, Rudy said it "wasn’t necessary" and that the former NYC Corrections commissioner would "do just fine without it."

That statement has prompted would-be cops and NYPD insiders to wonder if the same logic would be now applied to those seeking jobs as police officers.

QConfidential spoke to two 27-year-old Queens men who passed the NYPD test but were put on the waiting list until they gather the required credits.

"It’s a double standard," they said. "We have to wait to work on the street while the commissioner sits in his office with less education than we have now," one of the men said.

Cop out?

On The Way Up

Forest Hills resident and playwright John Attanas may soon join the ranks of Paul Simon, Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano and a host of other Queens natives that have hit the big time in show business.

Attanas’ new play, Memorial Days, a light-hearted romantic farce about two brothers in love with a woman engaging in an affair with their cousin, is now playing off-Broadway at the Home Grown Theater in Manhattan.

The funny and fatal events that occur when it’s discovered that the object of the boys’ affection is messing around with another family member unfold over a series of Memorial Day weekends at a vacation spot in the Adirondack Mountains.

Attanas is no stranger to tales of humorous romances. The former Russell Sage Junior High student also penned the dark comedies Hermione: Tales of Sexual Frustration and Cute Lonely Guys Looking For You — both of which ran off-Broadway.

Training Rats

Feeling the full strength of his Queens population, one rat recently took his demand for equal subway rights to the people.

Tired of walking long distances in between the track trash, the rat entered the R train’s last car right along with the passengers at 67 Avenue at about 8:30 p.m. on August 22.

However, his fellow passengers reportedly did not take well to the rodent’s right to ride, and proceeded to stand on their seats until the cars rolled into Continental Avenue. Having reached his stop, the rat waited for the doors to open and peacefully exited.

It’s no tail . . . that’s equal rights for you, Queens style.

You can reach us by email at conf@queenstribune.com Fax to Conf (718) 357-0972 Or you can reach us by mail: "Confidential" 174-15 Horace Harding Expressway Fresh Meadows, NY 11365

 

Confidentially New York . . .

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Queens NYConfidential is edited by: Michael Schenkler and Tamara Hartman. Contributors: Tom Allon, Steve Azzara, Nick Buglione, David Colby, Ira Cohen, Marcia Comrie, Richard Fasanella, Barbara Jarvie, Mike Nussbaum, Dee Richard.