Rock legend Bob Dylan was treated like a complete unknown by police in a New Jersey shore community when a resident called to report someone wandering around the neighborhood.

Dylan was in Long Branch, about a two-hour drive south of New York City, on July 23 as part of a tour with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp that was to play at a baseball stadium in nearby Lakewood.

A 24-year-old police officer apparently was unaware of who Dylan is and asked him for identification, Long Branch business administrator Howard Woolley said yesterday.

A second officer, also in his 20s, responded to assist the first officer. He, too, apparently was unfamiliar with Dylan, Woolley said.

The officers asked Dylan for identification. The singer said that he didn't have any ID with him and that he was just walking around looking at houses to pass some time before that night's show.

The officers asked Dylan, 68, to accompany them back to the Ocean Place Resort and Spa, where the performers were staying. Once there, tour staff vouched for Dylan.

How did it feel? A Dylan publicist did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment yesterday.

LENO TO WELCOME SEINFELD AS FIRST GUEST

NBC says Jerry Seinfeld will be the first guest on the premiere of "The Jay Leno Show."

Seinfeld will join previously announced musical guests Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West. The new weeknight prime-time series debuts Sept. 14.

Leno stepped down in May as host of the "Tonight Show" after 17 years.

Seinfeld, who starred in his own hit NBC comedy, will be returning to the network early next year with "The Marriage Ref," a reality series that he'll produce.

FAMILY, FRIENDS HONOR SHRIVER'S LEGACY

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the presidential sister who founded the Special Olympics, was celebrated yesterday at a funeral Mass as a fearless warrior for the voiceless who changed the world for millions and an unconventional woman who smoked Cuban cigars and played tackle football.

"She was scary smart and not afraid to show it," Maria Shriver said of her mother, who died Tuesday at age 88. "If she were here today ... she would pound this podium ... and ask each of you what you have done today to better the world."

The Special Olympics torch led a procession for Shriver past thousands of onlookers who lined the streets outside St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church as friends, family and athletes from the movement she founded in 1968 gathered for the private service.

After the Mass, Shriver was buried at the St. Francis Xavier parish cemetery in nearby Centerville, Mass.