Hizzoner gets Atkins-friendly

By DAVID SALTONSTALL
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF

There was no steak, but Mayor Bloomberg finally chewed the fat this week with Veronica Atkins, the widow of the late diet guru Robert Atkins, the Daily News has learned.

And while beef was not on the menu, the two did talk turkey about a possible gift to the city from the late doctor's foundation - possibly to study obesity in city school kids.

"It is something that she is pondering, but it is not a decision that she has reached," said Richard Rothstein, a spokesman for Atkins Nutritionals Inc.

Veronica Atkins is chairwoman of the Robert T. Atkins Foundation, a $50 million fund set up by her husband to research low-carb, high-protein diets such as the one he pioneered for decades before his death last year.

"They talked about a lot of things," Rothstein said of Atkins' Monday meeting with Bloomberg at Gracie Mansion. "And I know that Veronica has a lot of interest in using foundation money for education and public service activities, and those things were discussed."

"She did express an interest in doing something to help children," a mayoral aide confirmed.

For Bloomberg and Atkins, the meeting - which both sides described as cordial - marked a dramatic turnaround in a relationship that got off to a rough start.

It began when Bloomberg, unaware that he was being taped, told a group of Brooklyn firefighters in January that Atkins was "fat" - and questioned his slip-and-fall death on a city street in April 2003.

"I don't believe that bull---- ," Bloomberg said.

The comment was blasted as insensitive by Veronica Atkins - who went on national TV to demand a public apology. Bloomberg balked, even suggesting the widow needed to "lighten up."

But as the dustup spread internationally, Bloomberg's press office issued a statement saying Hizzoner was "sorry" for any hurt feelings - and that he and Atkins would meet soon for an Atkins-friendly steak dinner.

Because of scheduling conflicts, the dinner never happened. But Atkins, for her part, apparently has agreed to let bygones be bygones.

Asked whether the mayor had offered a personal apology to Atkins Monday, Rothstein said, "They have moved far beyond that. That is ancient history."

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