Judgments affirmed.
Defendant timely and unequivocally asserted his right to defend himself pro se. After an extensive inquiry, the court granted his request, and appointed counsel to sit through the trial and be available to defendant when the latter sought advice. Defendant was given the opportunity to reconsider on a number of occasions, each time insisting that he wanted to represent himself.
On this record, it cannot fairly be said that the trial court erred in allowing defendant to proceed pro se (see, People v Whitted, 113 A.D.2d 454); in fact, a refusal to do so might have constituted reversible error (see, People v McIntyre, 36 N.Y.2d 10, 17; People v Reason, 37 N.Y.2d 351, 357; People v Davis, 49 N.Y.2d 114).
Defendant's remaining contentions have been considered and found to be without merit. Gibbons, J.P., Thompson, Brown and Eiber, JJ., concur.