AND now, a personal message for filmmaker Ric Burns.

Dear Ric:

All is forgiven!

I have just finished watching thefinal two chapters of your “NewYork” documentary and they aremagnificent.

I will never call you a slowpokeagain.

Regards and congratulations,

– Adam Buckman

Viewers who watched “New York: A Documentary” back in November 1999 know what I’m talking about.

They stuck with Burns’ miniseries for 10 hours over five consecutive nights – 330 years of New York City history – only to feel stranded at the dawn of the Great Depression when the film ended with the completion of the Empire State Building.

At the time, Burns expected to complete a two-hour final chapter on the remaining 70 years of city history in about six months.

But that timetable became a year and then a year-and-a-half as the finale ballooned to four-and-a-half hours.

Along the way, I derided Burns for the delay and labeled him a “slowpoke.”

Now, just shy of two years since “New York” was first aired, the final installments have arrived.

They’ll air on Ch. 13 on Sunday, Sept. 30, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. and on Monday, Oct. 1, from 9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.

And let me tell you: They are well worth the wait.

Burns had said these last 70 years represent an epic unto themselves and he proves his point in the two-part finale.

The first of the two parts – Episode 6: “City of Tomorrow” – traces the evolution of the city through the Depression and up until World War II through the era of Fiorello LaGuardia. The second – Episode 7: “The City and the World” – covers the upheavals of the post-war years.

Watching them, you begin to understand what took Burns so long.

His final 4 ½ hours is a complex assemblage as dizzying as the city itself.

His “stars” include LaGuardia, whose reputation as perhaps our greatest mayor is amply demonstrated; his corrupt predecessor, Jimmy Walker; Robert Moses, the city planner and builder who destroyed thousands of homes to build the city’s expressways; and many others long dead, but brought vividly to life.

Mark your calenders. This documentary is not to be missed.

And P.S.: Hey, Ric, what are you working on next?