DINKINS GIVES HIS SUPPORT TO GREEN, NOT FERRER

David N. Dinkins will support Mark Green's campaign for mayor,
rebuffing a request by Fernando Ferrer's supporters that he join a
black-Hispanic coalition behind Mr. Ferrer, Democrats familiar with
the former mayor's decision said last night.

In another move that signaled how key Democrats are moving to take
sides in the crowded mayoral field, Thomas J. Manton, the Queens
Democratic leader, told associates yesterday that he had decided to
back Alan G. Hevesi, the city comptroller, over another candidate from
Queens, Peter F. Vallone, the City Council speaker who lives around
the corner from Mr. Manton in Astoria.

Mr. Dinkins is expected to announce his decision at a news conference
with Mr. Green today; Mr. Manton informed Mr. Vallone of his decision
yesterday, Mr. Vallone's associates said.

Mr. Dinkins and Mr. Manton are among a small handful of Democrats
whose deliberations in this mayoral contest have been closely watched
by party leaders. While aides to Mr. Green and Mr. Hevesi welcomed the
support yesterday, the endorsements are probably more significant as
setbacks to the relatively young campaigns of Mr. Ferrer and Mr. Vallone.

Advisers to Mr. Ferrer, the Bronx borough president, said last night
that they had expected Mr. Dinkins to support Mr. Green, noting that
Mr. Green had served as consumer affairs commissioner in Mr. Dinkins's
administration. "It's not surprising," said John Del Cecato, Mr.
Ferrer's spokesman. "Most observers anticipated this for some time."
Mr. Dinkins did not return a telephone call last night.

But Mr. Ferrer had repeatedly expressed his desire for Mr. Dinkins's
support. And some of Mr. Ferrer's supporters had described Mr. Dinkins
as a potentially key figure in attempts to form a black-Hispanic
coalition to help elect Mr. Ferrer, who would be the city's first
mayor of Puerto Rican heritage. In an interview earlier this week, Mr.
Dinkins said that was one of the factors he was considering in
weighing his decision.

Friends described Mr. Dinkins as extremely agitated when Mr. Ferrer,
at a televised debate, failed to name Mr. Dinkins when asked whom he
would vote for in a hypothetical lineup that involved Mr. Dinkins,
Edward I. Koch and Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. Mr. Ferrer said later
that he had been cut off by a questioner before he had a chance to
answer.

Mr. Manton's decision was being watched for different reasons. The
Queens Democratic leader is known as a pragmatic politician, who was
intent this year on promoting the influence of his political
organization by aligning it with the candidate from Queens that he
felt had the best chance of winning the Sept. 11 primary. (Mr. Hevesi
and Mr. Vallone have offered fairly similar views of how they would
run the city.)

Mr. Manton's decision would thus seem something of a vote of no
confidence for Mr. Vallone, who has trailed in most early polls. Mr.
Vallone's aides sought to play down the decision and suggested that
support from a county Democratic leader lacked the significance it
once had.

"We're still very confident that Peter's going to be the next mayor,
and this election is not going to hinge on a party boss," said Mattis
Goldman, Mr. Vallone's campaign press spokesman. "It's going to hinge
on who has the best record and the best ideas. That's what voters are
going to pay attention to."

Mr. Manton's decision was disclosed to reporters not by Mr. Manton,
but by aides to Mr. Vallone, in what appeared to be an attempt to
steal the drama from a Hevesi-Manton news conference.

Political organizations in New York are indeed not as strong as they
once were, and endorsements by their leaders do not have the influence
that they once had. Nevertheless, Mr. Manton is known for running a
strong organization in a county that could provide a fourth of the
Democratic primary vote. Since the race is crowded with four major
candidates, and polls are showing the contest to be tight, turnout
could prove to be a key factor.

The political jockeying came in a day in which one Democratic
candidate, Mr. Green, signaled the way that a change of
administrations might alter things as he questioned the city's
aggressive crackdown on nightclubs in New York. He argued that New
York's night life was a central part of its identity and that clubs
were a source of tourism and revenue.

Mr. Green noted that he had helped devise legislation under which
nightclubs could not be opened within 500 feet of a residence, and
said he supported "cracking down on nightclubs where there are
credible reports of drug use, of under-age drinking."

But, he added: "New York is a night city also. It is part of our
tourism. It is part of our economy. You have to strike for a proper
balance."

Mr. Green offered his opinion in response to a question at a forum
sponsored by Crain's New York Business magazine. The Giuliani
administration has been cracking down on such clubs, calling them
havens of illicit drug use. The club Twilo was closed two weeks ago.

The other candidates were not asked their opinion of the policy at the
forum. Later, Mr. Del Cecato said Mr. Ferrer believed that "nightclubs
are part of New York City life and they are appropriate as long as
they obey the rule of law." Mr. Del Cecato noted that building and
health code regulations governed nightclubs.

Mr. Vallone and Mr. Hevesi were more supportive of Mr. Giuliani's
approach. Mr. Vallone believes that the city is simply "making sure
the nightclubs are operating legally and safely," Mr. Goldman said.
"This is an example where Peter would continue to keep the city moving
forward the way Rudy has."'

Josh Isay, a spokesman for Mr. Hevesi, supported such crackdowns if
they are based on "lawbreaking within the club or noise and disruption
outside it, not on the type of clubgoers at the establishment."

"While nightclubs are a part of our economy, the comptroller supports
the mayor's initiative, " Mr. Isay said.