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Loews Converting %u2018Metro* to a QuadLike many movie houses before it. the Loews M etropolitan on Fulton Street is being converted into a quad theater.Now closed, the theater will open temporarily on November 17 with balcony admission for two of the four theaters. The full theater is expected to open sometime before the Christmas season.By splitting the Metropolitan into four smaller houses, the Loews Corporation is hoping to draw more ticket buyers and compete with television which has caused a major decline in the size of the movie6 O U l5\the capacity is underutilized,%u201d said Don Baker, vice-president of Loews Theaters, which owns movie houses across the country. %u201cYou have a situation where you have to heat it, cool it, pay taxes. It's just not economically feasible.%u201d\three, all of our theaters have gone double, triple or q u ad ,%u201d said Edward Arnow, in charge of advertising at Loews. %u201c It means greater business by bringing more people to the theater.%u201dIt is an economical saver in otherways, too. Havino one structure to maintain, with four movies, is cheaper than having four different movie houses, he said.The Loews Metropolitan opened on September 15, 1918 and is one of Brooklyn%u2019s last remaining movie %u201c palaces.%u201d It seats 2,986 now, and after the conversion will hold around 2,700, according to Bert Bronstein, project manager of the Chinm an-Krieger Construction Company, a Long Island-based firm handling the contracting.He estimated the cost at around $250,000. He said the conversion involves putting in new walls, steelreinforcement for a new deck in front of the balcony and other structural changes.His firm has done about 100 conversions, Bronstein said, mostly along the East Coast. They are now working on conversions in Ohio, Michigan and Connecticut.%u201c I don%u2019t think we were actually losing money,%u201d said Don Baker about the Metropolitan, \want to make the effort to preserve it. Otherwise, a theater like this will have to close...w e have confidence in downtown Brooklyn.%u201dN e w s b r i e f s :Ed Board FiresWorks SupervisorThe Board of Education has discharged a school maintenance supervisor for falsely certifying that fire retardant ducts and dampers had been satisfactorily installed at schools in Park Slope and Fort Greene.The action, against Elias Slodkowitz. a $16,441-a-year supervisor of school maintenance, was disclosed by Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin after an engineer from his staff discovered that approval had been given to faulty construction work at the two schools.Slodkowitz was charged with \coming his position%u201d and %u201c incompetence and inefficient service\P.S. 287 at 50 Navy Street in Fort Greene, and at a junior high school, Sands 265 at 101 Park Avenue in Park Slope.Faulty work at the two schools was first reported by Louis Buffalano, a mechanical engineer in Goldin%u2019s office. He recommended that payments be withheld to theHOT PURSE-U1T: On October 8, at 10:05 p.m. at Clinton and Warren Streets, a Brooklyn woman was approached by Dwane Patterson, 17, of 244 Bond Street and an unknown associate. The two grabbed her, Patterson allegedly snatching her handbag and shoving her, until a bystander intervened. They broke away and fled in opposite directions with the witness pursuing Patterson to the corner of Clinton and Kane Streets, where 76th Precinct Officer Bohn intercepted and arrested him. Patterson%u2019s partner has not been found..32 CALIBER CARTRIDGES.OnOctober 9 at 4 p.m., Benny Sinatra, 22. of 26 Carroll Street and Salvator Ascolesi, 27, of 244 Sackett Street, were pulled over for a traffic violation at the intersection of Van Brunt and Bowne Streets. As 76th Precinct Officer Norbert Wernicke approached the car from the passenger side, he noted a silvery object protruding from the passenger seat. He found it to be a .32 revolver containting 5 .32 calibre cartridges. Sinatra and Ascolesi were charged with possession of a Firearm, and Ascolesi was also charged with possession of mariiuana.KNIFE TO KNOW YOU: Detective Ted .Jurek, of the 76th Precinct, arrested Christine Jeffries, 22, of 11 Lorraine Street, on an assault charge*. The victim, %u2022whose name is not being released, was allegedly stabbed the daycontractor because the work was unsatisfactory. He warned that the fire dampers were misaligned and would not stop a fire in the walls. He also said one was missing and that they were of inferior material than specified in the contract.The Board of Education%u2019s area manager for Brooklyn later reported that Slodkowitz said the work now was completed and the payments to the contractors should be made.But Buffalano visited the schools again and found the fire dampers still incorrectly installed. Following additional investigation, the case was finally taken over by the Board's inspector general office, leading to the firing.Tests CertifyWater QualityA new series of tests conducted by city health authorities last week certified that Brooklyn%u2019s drinking water rates high for both quality and cleanliness. The test, sought by Borough President Howard Golden following a contaminationbefore at 8:30 p.m. at 80 Dwight Street with a kitchen knife. Jurek made the arrest at 12:30 a.m. at Jeffries%u2019 home.A CLOSE SHAVE: Officer Martin McNeela, of the 76th Precinct Anti-Crime unit, nabbed Curtis Grant in front of 198 Bond Street on October 13 at 9:15 p.m. Grant allegedly robbed an out-of-town man on the corner of Bond and Wyckoff Streets with two other assailants at 8:55 p.m. that night, injuring him with a straight razor. Grant, 23, of 413 Baltic Ave., was the only one of the three arrested. Police would not discuss the extent of the victim%u2019s injuries.OH MY GOODNESS: And thequest for free energy marches on%u201478th Precinct Officer Kenneth Trepeta arrested Sixto Ocasio, 24, of 236 Dean Street at 9:15 a.m. on October 15. Ocasio had broken into apartment 2R of 258 Bergen Street and wired into an electricity extension in the apartment, supplying himself with electricity free of charge. Ocasio was charged with burglary, possessing burglar's tools, and theft of services.HEROIN AND HYPE: Officer George Klingberg of the 76th Precinct Patrol collared Dennis Smith, 25, of 470 DeKalb Avenue, for possession of controlled substances on the corner of Dwight and Otsego Streets. Smith was carrying a hypodermic needle and two decks of alleged heroin, on October 11 at 10:25 p.m.scare in Borough Park, found no unsafe or unhealthy levels of bacteria in the water.Golden said he had been assured by health and water officials that Brooklyn water, which is captured in the Catskill-Delaware reservoir system, is scientifically monitored 24 hours a day.Plan Board TwoReviews BudgetMembers of Community Planning Board Two will be meeting throughout this week with heads of city agencies to go over individual projects outlined in the board%u2019s preliminary budget, covering all projects within the board%u2019s district.The budget was submitted October 13 to the city%u2019s Office of Management and Budget and the City Planning Commission and represents the first step of a three-step process toward approving a final budget.Among the 43 projects listed are 18 board initiated proposals including the upgrading of fire equipment and opening of two additional firehouses, resurfacing of various streets, and subway upgrading and modernization. Cost estim ates have not been figured for these projects yet.The other items come from city agency proposals such as $123,250,000 for the Red Hook Container Port (Department of Environmental Protection).Many MothersAre TeenagersTeenage mothers accounted for approximately 15 percent of births in Brooklyn last year, according to figures released by Health Commissioner Dr. Reinaldo Ferrer. The Health Department, he said, reported a total of 39,672 births last year, of which 6,177 were to teenage mothers.%u201c A breakdown of these statistics,%u201d Dr. Ferrer said, %u2019%u2019show that teenage pregnancies appear with approximately equal frequency in any area that has a substantial teenage population, irrespective of location and other socio-demographic factors.%u201dCity CrackdownOn Noise BlastersFollowing a directive issued by Mayor Koch and M etropolitan Transit Authority officials, Transit Authority police this week began a crackdown on loud playing of radios, phonographs, and tape recorders in the municipal buses and subways.Since Monday, Transit police have been issuing $50 summonsesfor musically-inclined violators. The summonses are returnable to the Environmental Control Board instead of the Criminal Court to insure effective fine collection.Koch said the tough stance against blaring music was a response to considerable complaints from commuters on the city%u2019s transit lines.%u201c We have received many complaints, and rightfully so, from citizens who are annoyed by persons playing portable radios on mass transit, forcing everyone to listen to loud music. It becomes even more intolerable when more than one radio is played at the same time and the rider has to be a victim of a musical decibel war,%u201d said Koch.130 Clinton Now150 JoralemonThe conversion of 130 Clinton Street, in Brooklyn Heights, from offices into apartments is nearing completion. Renting began two weekends ago.Among the changes instituted, the 13-story building%u2019s main entrance is now at 150 Joralemon Street, previously a side entrance. Stewart Greenfield, manager and developer, said the Clinton Street entrance will be made into an open arcade with no entrance to the building itself.The conversion began in October 1977, and should be ready for occupancy this January. The building will have 89 apartments ranging from studios and duplexes to triplexes. There will also be a roof garden and closed circuit television security system.Greenfield would not say how much the conversion is costing. %u2014G.F.Rent Strike15 Weeks OldThe rent strike at 186 Amity Street is entering its 15th week with yet another court appearance postponed until November 2.Two dispossessed tenants were scheduled to appear in court October 18, but Martha Gonzales%u2019 case was adjourned because she had just come out of the hospital. To save court time, Myer Strauss%u2019 case was adjourned also so both decisions can be determined together.Rent money from August is in escrow with a landlord representative, and rent money from September is with Assemblyman Mike Pesce, counsel for the tenants. October money is being withheld by the tenants themselves.Pesce said. %u201c The landlord did make some repairs, but not enough to release some of that escrow money,%u201d which amounts to thousands of dollars.N . Y . P . D .City BoardTo ReviewRejectionThe city board of the Health Systems Agency will decide today whether to uphold a local subcommittee ruling against expansion of the Brooklyn Vocational Rehabilitation Institute at 50 Nevins Street.On Oct. 12 the subcommittee voted against the expansion proposed by Dr. Karl Easton, founder of the Institute, citing lack of community input into the present facility. It also accused him of being too vague in defining the services the expansion would provide.The city board can overrule the local decision, but its ruling can be overturned by the state.The Institute exists under the Brooklyn Psychosocial Rehabilitation Institute, which includes the Boerum Hill Rehabilitation Residence (BHRR). The Vocational Institute offers services to some in the BHRR, and together have been in existence since 1967.Dr. Easton plans to expand into 3 Lafayette Avenue, a former furniture warehouse. The subcommittee judged this to be a conflict of interest since Dr. Easton had bought the building himself.Irving Link, general director of the BHRR, explained that Dr. Easton used his money to buy the building because the Vocational Institute was in debt and could not afford the building. He then set up a transitional corporation to own the building until the BHRR moves in. %u201c We have a very significant problem if the program does not get off the ground,%u201d he said.Link said the building would be used to service 150 former discharged mental patients from hospitals in the areas covering Community Planning Boards Two and Six. %u201c There is nothing providing long-term care in this area,%u201d he said. %u201c There are only short-term outpatient type therapies.%u201dOf the subcommittee ruling, Link said, %u201c I%u2019m very disgusted. I don%u2019t think the members of the subcommittee paid attention to the community. There was no effort to evaluate the BHRR.%u201d %u2014G.F.Brooklyn CollegePlans HS %u2018Day%u2019On November 5, Brooklyn College will have its annual %u201c College Day%u201d for students and their parents. %u201c Each school runs a program that introduces students to the various departments,%u201d said Professor Samuel Gelber of the Art Department. Activities during the day include special lectures, tours, workshops, concerts, and other events.President John W. Kneller will kick off the ceremonies at noon in Whitman Hall. The award-winning Percussion Ensemble from the Music Department will perform afterw ards. Afternoon activities include other special dance, theatre and music recitals. Tours will be conducted of the astronomical observatory,Five PropertiesUp for AuctionThe Department of Real Estate has slated five Brooklyn properties for auction under the uniform land use review procedure, unless Community Board Six files any objections to the sale by November zu. Comments regaruing the proposed auction of 1270 Putnam Ave., 3 Woodhul! St., 38 Fifth Ave., 788 Union St., and 142 Eleventh St. should be mailed to the District Office, 250 Baltic St., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201.Page 22, THE PHOENIX, October 26, 1978