By Garett Sloane
gsloane@am-ny.com

The Dow Jones may appear half empty right now, but that just means the stock market is full of buying opportunities, optimistic market observers advise.

Investors are selling everything -- the good along with the bad, according to Vahan Janjigian, chief investment strategist at Forbes.

“I think there is a panic right now,” he said. “A lot of people are selling when they should be buying. People should be taking Warren Buffett’s lead.”

Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha,” has invested billions into Goldman Sachs and General Electric as those stocks have plummeted, a move consistent with his oft-repeated philosophy: Be greedy when everyone else is fearful.

And even as countless people are hurting, some New Yorkers are taking Buffett’s cues. “I am investing,” said Lisa Kelly, 28, a teacher from the Upper West Side. “The market is low. I’m young, and it’s going to go up.”

It’s hard to envision that right now. The historic stock collapse has pushed the Dow Jones industrial average below 9,000 for the first time since 2003 and the S&P 500 below 1,000 for the first time in five years.

As Barack Obama’s lead in the polls grows and the final debate nears in New York, voters and observers say that rhetoric by some supporters of John McCain has produced the worst show of hate during a presidential election in decades.

At campaign events, supporters of McCain have shouted, “off with his head,” “kill him” and “terrorist” in reference to Obama.

“I believe his supporters are reading the polls and they’re losing,” said City Councilwoman Letitia James (D-Brooklyn). “I just think racism is alive and healthy unfortunately…and some people really need to think whether or not they are better off today than they were eight years ago.”

McCain has rebuked his own supporters over the comments. Obama’s campaign has praised McCain for confronting his supporters, but a Georgia congressman and some New Yorkers believe he and Palin are responsible for fueling the negativity. The McCain crowds have been compared to George Wallace’s presidential campaigns in 1968 and 1972.

By Marlene Naanes
mnaanes@am-ny.com

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn yesterday threw her support behind the mayor’s push to extend term limits permanently.

Reiterating some of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s arguments for a third term, Quinn said at a City Hall news conference that the city is facing a global financial crisis and “continuity of leadership” will help pull the city through.

“In these difficult times, I believe voters should have the choice to keep the current leadership of our city,” said Quinn, who was seen as a potential mayoral candidate before Bloomberg announced his view on term limits, which he once supported . “If voters are not happy with any of us, they have the right to vote us out of office next fall.”

Quinn said she talked with city leaders in the public and private sector, including labor officials and good government advocates, before coming to a decision to permanently extend term limits from two to three four-year stints. She noted yesterday that New Yorkers also will be able to voice their opinion at two City Hall hearings this Thursday and Friday.

Joey “Jaws” Chestnut grabbed another slice of competitive-eating glory Sunday.

In his first ever pizza-eating competition, Chestnut, the Nathan’s Famous hot dog champ the past two years, set another world record by devouring 45 slices in 10 minutes at the inaugural Famous Famiglia World Pizza Eating Championship, held at TImes Square in honor of Columbus Day.

Chestnut, 24, of San Jose, Calif., edged Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti, who downed 43 cheese slices. Bertoletti, the Mohawked 22-year-old from Chicago, held the previous pizza-eating record of 22.

Forty-year-old “Humble” Bob Shoudt, of Royersford, Pa., even gave chase, eating 41, but he faded in the final minutes.

Chestnut earned a $5,000 payday and the "pizza palette trophy."

The contestants were able to obliterate the previous record, they said, because the pizza was “fast” compared to pies at previous contests.

Sure, everyone’s heard of fast tracks in racing, but fast pizza?

“If it’s warm, and if the crust isn’t too dry,” Bertoletti explained of the factors that make a pizza go down quicker.

In fact, the speed of the pizzas, which can vary from pie to pie, was on Chestnut’s mind down the stretch, when Bertoletti trailed him by one slice.

“If he got a fast pizza on that last pizza, I was little bit worried,” said Chestnut, who also holds the records for eating fried asparagus, jalapeno poppers and, of course, hot dogs.

As for a strategy, Chestnut seemed to steal a page from his own book, rolling up the pizzas in his fists and shoving them down his throat much in the same way he famously inhales hot dogs at Coney Island.

“Any time I can pretend the food is a hot dog, it makes it easier,” Chestnut said. “I can get in that same rhythm that I get in on the Fourth of July.”

It was 1973 on Friday in Greenpoint.

A filming for ABC’s “Life on Mars” has taken over a large chunk of the Brooklyn neighborhood. Particularly cool is the string of 1970s-era cars stretching down Calyer Street.

It’s not clear exactly how many locations the show was filming at in Greenpoint, but crews were set up inside and outside the Capri Social Club, a bar on the corner of Calyer and Lorimer Street). For some reason, this hole in the wall is popular with TV producers. Over the past couple of years, it has been the home to scenes for J.J. Abrams’ doomed “Six Degrees” and the short-lived “The Black Donnellys.”

If “Life of Mars” flops, too, it might be time to start talking about the Capri curse.

More cars after the jump.

Yes, we're the little commuter paper that could, and after five years circulating the city, we have a lot to look back on. Humble beginnings, big stories and more.

Check out a commentary from our managing editor Pete Catapano - who's been here from the start - as he thanks the newsroom for the memories [here], a highlights reel from our notable stories [here], and collection of our past editions in PDF format [here].

And hey New York, thanks for reading.

1. Escape the concrete jungle, see some fall foliage:

The city's Circle Line has launched new day trip tours up the Hudson river to check out the fall colors at Bear Mountain State Park. Hop the boat at 42nd St. and enjoy a full day of leaf-peeping. (Tours last through Nov. 1; adult tix $45, seniors $40, kids $30. For more info, go to www.CircleLine42.com or call 212-563-3200). And for more of our foliage picks, click [here].

2. Eat some falafel:

We've gone to the trouble of compiling a long list of the best falafel around town. Now all you have to do is print it or e-mail it to yourself and go eat it. See our comprehensive guide [here].

3. Eat and Drink at the NYC Wine & Food Festival:

Dedicated foodies already revere Chelsea Market as a mecca of great produce and crusty loaves. Now, that site is the major hub in a series of venues handpicked for the inaugural New York City Wine & Food Festival, which takes place from Oct. 9-12.

By Rebecca Wolfson and Garett Sloane

There was a time when the Empire State Building offered a view of the heavens from its grand lobby.

A celestial panorama was painted in gold leaf on the ceiling of the original entryway. In the 1960s, during renovations, the mural was covered by a drop ceiling, obscuring for decades the abstract scene of once-lustrous stars and planets.

Soon a re-creation of the stars will shine again, as will the entire lobby, which is being restored to how it looked when the World’s Tallest Building — at the time — opened May 1, 1931, on 34th Street and Fifth Avenue.

Wien & Malkin, the managing owners, are not ready to discuss the preservation effort, and no completion date is set.

The estimated $600 million renovation of the 102-story Art Deco structure is being headed by Beyer Binder Belle. When it is complete, everything down to the lighting fixtures in the lobby will evoke the spirit of the 1930s.

amNewYork Photo/ RJ Mickelson

Members of their union will be handing out free airplane pillows outside the American Airlines passenger check-in at LaGuardia Airport on Friday as a peace offering to fliers.

The union is trying to build solidarity with passengers as it negotiates a new contract with the airline, according Laura Glading, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, a union covering 18,000 American Airlines workers.

After setting world records for quickly eating fried asparagus, jalapeno poppers, and, of course, hot dogs, Joey Chestnut should have no problem scarfing slices of pizza.

But the Nathan's champ does confess to being a little worried, because it's his first pizza-eating competition, and the world record is at stake.

The California native will be up against several famous competitive eaters at Sunday's first ever Famous Famiglia World Pizza Eating Championship in Times Square. But his main adversary will be the world's slice-eating champion, Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti, who currently holds the record of downing 22 slices in 10 minutes .

“If I get into a good rhythm, I think I’ll win,” said Chestnut, the world's first-ranked competitive eater. “I’m pretty confident in my ability and my training.”

He’s been training on New York-style pizza from his local pizza parlor, and his main focus has been figuring out the best way to get into an eating rhythm.

Chestnut was last in the Big Apple in July, when he defended his Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest title in Coney Island.

Chestnut just defeated second-ranked Bertoletti in a gyoza eating contest in August. Gyoza is a Japanese term for Chinese dumplings or potstickers.

Other contenders include Tim “Eater X” Janus and Crazy Legs Conti, who are roommates in the East Village. Eleven eaters in all will compete for seven cash prizes, totaling $14,000.

Sunday’s event, which begins at 11 a.m., is more than just a pizza-eating contest. There’s also a pizza-tossing contest, a ritual pre-contest anointment of the eaters, pasta and T-shirt give-aways, and a ribbon-cutting by “Mamma Rosa,” mother of the founders of Famous Famiglia.

There will even be a performance by Eric “Badlands” Booker before he battles for a pizza-eating prize. The rapper will perform his new song, “Mamma Mia.”

The Italian-themed event is in honor of Columbus Day and will take place on Military Island, 43rd Street between Seventh Avenue and Broadway in Times Square.

-- Amanda Magnus.

Photo: AP

Even with temperatures expected to reach the low 70s, the most famous ice-skating rink in the world will open for the season Saturday at 8:30 a.m.

The Ice Rink at Rockefeller Center, which attracts more than a quarter of a million skaters each season, will hold its official opening ceremony two days later, on Monday morning starting at 9 am.

Trained skaters dressed as chefs will offer decorated sugar cookies to everyone at the rink until 4 p.m. Monday.

Despite the expected balmy weather that day, the ice rink will stay cold. A type of anti-freeze called glycol is kept in pipes just under the rink floor to keep the layers of water on top frozen.

The ice rink offers skate rentals and skating lessons, and reservations are not required. The rink will be open until April.

-- Amanda Magnus

The Dow tanked yesterday and it tanked again today. Yesterday we got a demo of this $1000 lap dance, a new service at the VIP Club in Chelsea, and asked the question, is there anyone who can/will pay for something like that in the current economic climate?

As is always the way in the sex industry, the answer was yes.

That price gets you 20 minutes in a private room with a topless dancer in a sparkle G-string, a bottle of Dom Perignon, Beluga caviar, and then an autograph on the dancer's G-string so the customer can take it home as a souvenier.

Of the economy, the club's general manager Joe Goncalves said, "Yeah, it's bad, but for everyone it hurts there are people it doesn't effect. There still people with a lot of money."

And there are always those who use the G-string to distract them from their dwindling bank accounts. To read about the other guilty pleasures Wall Street peeps are relying on to block out their dipping Dow blues, read [here.]

* An ornate Crown Heights townhouse going for $775,000? A great deal, or will it be worth $600,000 in a few months? [Brownstoner]

* Construction equipment now tears into the site of the bemoaned Septa trolleys on Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn. [Gowanus Lounge]

* The invasion of scary, mural-sized rats continues. [Curbed]

* The choicest photos of depressed floor traders. [Gawker]

* Oh, and it's 1973 again. [The Daily News]

* And the show that inspired that 1973 Web site, "Life on Mars," yields a salute to the real deal -- Kojak. [EV Grieve]

* And if 1973 isn't old enough for you, the Onion revisits 1783! [Fishbowl NY]

-- Rolando Pujol

Photo: A strange collection of signs on the Lexington Avenue line. (Elisabeth Stuveras)

One-by-one New York's icons are going up for sale -- the Chrysler Building, the Flatiron Building, the Plaza Hotel ... and now ... Tin Pan Alley? Wait, isn't that a street?

We've learned that five buildings on W. 28th Street in Manhattan have been put on the block for $44 million. The street was home to George Gershwin, Irving Berlin and other great American songwriters. A listing on a real estate Web site, Loopnet, recommends that the buildings be torn down and a high-rise take their place, the AP reports.

Is NOTHING un-sellable in this real estate-crazed town? What's next to go? How about that parcel of 843 acres of prime, undeveloped land right in the heart of Manhattan?