''It was never about the view of Central Park,'' she said. ''It was about the work he wants to do. He will continue to work on economic issues and developing new markets, and what better place than Harlem?''

Officials in Harlem were clearly ecstatic at the possibility. ''I'm very optimistic and hopeful that the president is prepared to say yes,'' said Representative Charles B. Rangel, a Manhattan Democrat who organized the meeting yesterday. ''It's not done until he says so. But I expect he will express his decision by morning.''

Representative Ernest R. Istook, Republican of Oklahoma and chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the budgets for former presidents, was pleased by the sudden turnabout. He has been the chief critic of Mr. Clinton's decision to rent space in a lavish office tower at an annual rent that he said was more than the other presidents' office rents combined.

''I hope this will be a much more reasonable price for the American taxpayer,'' Mr. Istook said in a statement released last night. ''And I know Harlem will be proud to have another Globetrotter. I'm pleased Mr. Clinton has listened to what the public was saying, and I know we'll all be just as interested in the new details.''

But Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, Democrat of Texas and chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said the uproar over Mr. Clinton's office space was motivated more by hatred for the former president than by the interests of taxpayers.

''I think it was the same old anti-Clinton attitude that objected to his being in Midtown Manhattan,'' she said. ''I highly resented the criticism. One thing is sure: Going to Harlem, he will be welcome. Harlem and the rest of the country benefited from this president.''

Carnegie Hall Tower is one of a score of premier office towers in Manhattan, where rents are $100 a square foot or more because of their locations, views and amenities. Carnegie Hall Tower offers tenants a lush marble lobby, etched glass, wood-paneled offices, blue-chip tenants and spectacular views.