The “But I Have Black Friends” Defense Works . . .

Hate crime charges dropped in Staten Island case:

Hate-crime charges were dropped yesterday against two white men accused of attacking a black man in Mariners Harbor earlier this week, as several black teenagers appeared in Stapleton Criminal Court to vouch for the suspects.

Police arrested Daniel Avissato, 24, of Westerleigh and Mark Vincent Maleto, 21, of Elm Park on a slew of charges, including assault as a hate crime, but the men were arraigned only on second-degree gang assault charges yesterday.

. . .

Attorney John Murphy, in his defense of Avissato, called on several black teens in the courtroom to vouch for Avissato’s character.

“The accused young man I represent is not a racist,” Murphy said in a prepared statement he distributed outside the courthouse. “The anecdotal evidence of his living and working in harmony with diversity is overwhelming.”

Murphy called upon a 14-year-old boy, who declined to give his name, to recount a time when Avissato offered the teen a ride during bad weather.

If You See Something, Eat Something

Three times as many people took advantage of the Staten Island Yankees’ all-you-can-eat food special as did reported something suspicious on the subway, figures indicate:

Take me out to the all-you-can-eat game, 6,000 fans told the Staten Island Yankee box office during the 2007 season.

For those who didn’t pick the unlimited-grub season package — there’s always next year.

The ballpark managers are improving the package known as the Pinstripe Plan by offering the all-you-can-eat option at every home game, for $15 a ticket.

As for season ticket-holders who aren’t hungry, or who are watching their weight, they’ll have to fork over $13 per seat — a few bucks more than last year.

The chow-down deal is available to season ticket holders (38 games), half-season ticket holders (19 games) and Pinstripe Plan purchasers who choose any of three seven-game packages, which include fireworks, entertainment and a game against the Yanks’ archrivals, the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Like last year’s popular plan, the package offers unlimited hot dogs, burgers, chicken sandwiches, water and soda at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George.

Location Scout: Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George.

And The Law & Order Residuals Morgenthau’s Office Gets From Dick Wolf Aren’t Even Factored In Those Numbers . . .

Staten Island is neglected in many ways, some more baffling than others:

District Attorney Daniel Donovan said yesterday that a 14 percent budget hike will put his staff’s salaries on par with their counterparts in the four other boroughs.

More important for Staten Islanders, the extra dough will help Donovan retain top-flight prosecutors and hire additional troops.

“We now have near parity across the board with our colleagues,” Donovan said yesterday. “This funding has given us greater ability to hire and retain staff, properly fund our investigations and, ultimately, to win more cases for the people of Staten Island.”

There are 48 prosecutors in his office, excluding himself, said Donovan. Total staff is about 108.

For years, Island prosecutors have labored in the shadow of their colleagues in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens — especially when it came to pay. In many instances, assistant district attorneys here earned $20,000 less than their counterparts, said Donovan.

Since his inauguration in January 2004, Donovan has fought the city for a bigger slice of the budget pie, picking up where his predecessor, William L. Murphy, left off.

Things You Don’t Need A Psychic To Tell You Include . . .

Staten Island psychics conclude that the Mets are toast:

“It ain’t over till it’s over,” Yogi Berra famously quipped, but for one Staten Island psychic, it’s over even before it ain’t.

“They’re not going to come close to winning whatsoever,” seer Jim Weiss said yesterday. “I just don’t get a good feeling about this team.”

Zillions of pundits and fans have been getting bad vibes from this New York nine since they started tanking last month, and you don’t need a sixth sense to read the stats.

The Mets lost a comfortable seven-game lead over the Phillies and now stand a game behind after last night’s 7-4 loss.

Looking ahead to this tense weekend of baseball, which will likely decide whether the Mets will make the playoffs, the Advance consulted with Weiss in his Prince’s Bay office:

“I hope I’m wrong, but I wrote them off back in June,” he said. “It’s as if they’re out of step. They’re not coordinated as a team.”

. . .

Astrologer Tanya Milton of St. George said it would take several days’ work to run star charts for the bombing bullpen — five days for the whole team. But she did perform a tarot card reading for slumping shortstop Jose Reyes, using his date of birth to predict his fate:

“I’m sensing that he’s feeling very insecure about his fans, and that might put him in a tilt,” she said. “If he could block out negative energy and focus on the game, he will prove himself and it will be a good [series]. Geminis depend a lot on the approval of others. Their egos need to be stroked.”

Does Your Mom Have Your Back?

Probably not like this mom does:

An Annadale woman is set to face the music after she allegedly stabbed a teen Monday night because she believed he stole her son’s iPod.

Davida Montano, 56, approached 19-year-old Joe Applebaum near his Monterey Avenue home around 10:30 p.m. Monday, accusing Applebaum of stealing the portable music player, a cop source said yesterday.

When Applebaum denied it, Ms. Montano slapped him in the face, breaking his prescription glasses, the source said.

Then, Ms. Montano — who lives around the corner from Applebaum on Marne Avenue — allegedly grabbed one of the broken lenses and stabbed Applebaum once in the right side of his chest.

Applebaum fled to nearby Barlow Avenue, leaving a bloody trail before he collapsed on a resident’s front stairway, the source said.