NEWS LITE : `SEINFELD' CREW SHUNS BIG APPLE.

No ``Seinfeld'' for you, New York!

NBC's soon-to-depart sitcom has quietly dropped plans to film one of its final episodes in the city that provides its fictional setting.

Any street scenes or diner visits will be filmed where they always have been - on a huge lot in Los Angeles.

Jerry Seinfeld, who grew up in the New York area and plans to live there again after his show ends in May, sounded enthusiastic about filming in New York last month.

Finding out why the plans were scrapped is about as difficult as brokering peace between Seinfeld and arch-nemesis Newman.

NBC referred questions to the production company, Castle Rock Entertainment, who referred them to Seinfeld publicist Lori Jonas, who didn't return two day's worth of repeated calls. Assistants to Jonas confirmed the change but wouldn't say why.

If the show is worried about production costs, perhaps the mayor's office could do something to help, said Pat Scott, commissioner of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting.

``We love him,'' she said. ``We love the show. We'd love to have him do it here. We'd certainly be ready to help him make it work if he would reconsider it.''

John, Rice team up for Disney's `Aida'

``The Lion King,'' Broadway's biggest musical hit in years, is a tough act to follow, but Disney says it has found the perfect project: a new stage version of ``Aida,'' featuring a score by Elton John and Tim Rice.

The production, to premiere at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta, will be Disney's first stage production not adapted from one of its movie successes.

``Elaborate Lives: The Legend of Aida'' begins preview performances Sept. 11, with an official opening Oct. 7.

The musical will inject a contemporary feel to the saga of the Egyptian princess and her Ethiopian slave girl, Aida, who love the same warrior and are swept up in political upheaval.

John, a part-time Atlanta resident, and Rice have written 19 songs for the musical, John's first direct-to-stage score.

Jacksons reconcile under storm clouds

Losing sleep over the silence and distance between pop siblings Janet and Michael Jackson? You can rest easy tonight. They've called a truce - thanks to El Nino! Brother and sister were thrown together the other day after Janet and boyfriend Rene Elizando left their Malibu home seeking shelter from the bad weather and headed for a Los Angeles hotel. Checking in, Janet discovered that her brother was staying right next door. The Jacksons - who had not spoken for two years - soon agreed to a peace summit and spent hours together. Janet, who had complained that Michael hadn't the decency to introduce her to her new nephew, finally got to see in person the Diapered One Presently Known as Prince.

Nielsen would like to go `Naked' again

Leslie Nielsen hopes ``The Final Insult'' won't be the final movie in his ``Naked Gun'' series.

``It deserves much better,'' said Nielsen, who stars as Lt. Frank Drebin. ``If it's going to go, let it go with Roman candles and explosions.''

Nielsen, who turned 76 on Wednesday, starred in the movie version of ``Mr. Magoo.''

English lord surprised at being 100 years old

His 100th birthday party was a surprise for Lord Granville of Eye on Thursday. Until recently, he had thought it would be his 99th.

Granville, a World War I veteran who now rarely attends the House of Lords, celebrated in the Lords' tea room with his wife and daughter.

His family discovered his true age when a Buckingham Palace official called to confirm whether he was eligible for the traditional 100th birthday congratulatory telegram from Queen Elizabeth II.

Lower train fares just a kiss away

A kiss is all it takes to get the lovers' discount on train fares in a northern German state.

Couples who smooch by the ticket window will receive half-price regional fares under a one-month deal in Schleswig-Holstein starting Feb. 20.

``With this ticket, we want to say to all young people that riding the train should not just be comfortable, but fun, too,'' railway business manager Goetz Dietsche said.

Participating couples must wear stickers for their train rides and be prepared to kiss on demand for the conductors.

800 number mix-up unbearable for firm

They may be cute, cuddly and the pride of Vermont, but mention teddy bears at the Golden Bear Mortgage Corp. in Truckee, Calif., and you're likely to get a growl.

That's because Golden Bear's 800 number is almost the same as that of the Vermont Teddy Bear Co., a well-known firm that uses radio advertising in the Northeast to market the furry, handmade toys as Valentine's Day gifts.

Those who hear the ads wrong wind up dialing Golden Bear instead of Teddy Bear.

``I know you have bears. Howard Stern said so,'' said one irate caller, who hung up after stressing that she wasn't interested in a home loan. Stern is a popular New York City-based radio personality.

``We probably got about 40 calls today already,'' Christopher Long, vice president of Golden Bear, said shortly after noon one day this week.

``On our 800 line, 75 percent of the calls that have come in were for Vermont Teddy Bear. We'll go an hour with maybe only one or two calls, then they'll suddenly start pouring in. You can tell when they've just run an ad.''

Golden Bear, whose number is [phone], asked Teddy Bear to change its phone number, [phone]. The request was refused.

News Lite is compiled from Daily News staff and wire reports

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1) Cubs and a kiss

Cincinatti Zoo nursery keeper Dawn Strasser puckers up to smooch one of two white lion cubs during feeding time Thursday. The pair, born in October and November in Germany, are on long-term loan to the zoo from Las Vegas entertainers Siegfried and Roy.

Associated Press

(2) John