Dan's Papers to charge in Manhattan, Bklyn.

Dan Rattiner, founder and executive editor of Dan's Papers, the folksy Bridgehampton-based weekly, loves to make up preposterous stories. One time, Rattiner made up a whopper about a "Flight to Portugal" in which contestants raced cars off a cliff near the Montauk Point Lighthouse.

"The one who gets the farthest toward Portugal wins," Rattiner wrote in his weekly.

Here's one he did not make up: Beginning April 2, Dan's Papers, free since its founding 50 years ago, will cost $2 a copy in Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, where it began circulating 20 years ago.

Dan's Papers will continue to be free on the East End, where circulation is about 52,000 during the summer vacation season. In the city, circulation is "a few thousand," managing editor Susan Galardi said.

But the paper will be available at 750 Manhattan locations, including Wall Street, in Chelsea, Soho and the Upper West Side. Currently it is available at about 200 locations, mostly on the Upper East Side.

"It's no surprise," Galardi said of the decision to charge for papers in the city. "It's strictly a business decision. The rate only covers the cost of distribution."

Rattiner said the decision was necessary and he will continue writing his column and about five stories a week. Despite Rattiner's occasional joshing stories, his articles take on serious subjects such as the environment and life in the Hamptons.

Since this is the paper's 50th year, he added, "there will be some big parties."