US News

S.F. EARMARKS $6M FOR PARK AT HEART OF JOE D FEUD

San Francisco officials said yesterday they want to pump up to $5.8 million into a playground that would bear Joe DiMaggio’s name.

Fueling an already ugly war of words between Joe D’s estate and the baseball legend’s brother Dom, Mayor Willie Brown and Supervisor Gavin Newsom agreed to spruce up the park and plaster the Yankee Clipper’s name all over its 2.5 acres.

“I would love to see every member of the family there when we dedicate this,” Newsom told The Post last night.

The park has been ground zero for a battle between Joe DiMaggio’s estate, controlled by lawyer and longtime friend Morris Engelberg, and Dom DiMaggio, one of three North Beach brothers who played major-league baseball together. Joe DiMaggio died March 8, 1999, at age 84.

Engelberg has called the park dedication “insulting,” while Dom said the playground would be a fitting tribute to his brother.

North Beach Playground — which includes a clubhouse and basketball, tennis and bocci courts — was actually named “Joe DiMaggio North Beach Playground” in 1980. But there’s not a hint of Joe D’s name anywhere on park grounds — most likely because DiMaggio never agreed to attend any dedication ceremony.

Engelberg said rededicating the park now to DiMaggio would be an illegal use of his old friend’s name because Joe D never wanted his name on that playground.

“If he had wanted it named after him, he would have gone there in 1980,” Engelberg said yesterday.

Dom DiMaggio, who could not be reached for comment last night, has supported city efforts to rededicate North Beach Playground.

Early proposals to honor Joe D in his hometown included renaming the Oakland Bay Bridge or San Francisco International Airport after him.

But Newsom — city point man for developing a DiMaggio memorial — said those proposals were not politically feasible, while North Beach residents and business interests backed the playground proposal.