“If we decide to — or have to — send out the [$400 property-tax] rebate or the City Council doesn’t act, the $1.4 billion cut is not adequate, and we will send out another letter next week,” the mayor said.

That letter would be directed at agency heads, who were told on Wednesday to come up with another $1.4 billion in savings starting July 1.

Sources said the chief sticking point in the negotiations is the 7 percent property tax increase that the mayor has asked the council to approve as of Jan. 1 to generate an extra $600 million.

“It’s over; it is what it is,” said Scores lawyer George Weinbaum. Co-owner Elliot Osher confirmed the closing.

A weak economy, the loss of the W. 27th St. Scores’ liquor license and the possibility the E. 60th St. joint would lose its booze ticket all helped do in the flesh factory.

. . .

Founded in 1990 with one club at 333 E. 60th St., Scores grew into a national chain of seven clubs, including Scores West on 27th St., which took in as much as $400,000 a night, according to sources.

In its heyday, the East Side club was a mecca for sports stars like Giambi and Mark Messier, actors like Crowe and of course Stern, who talked up the club on his radio show. The Knicks held parties there, and eventually Scores became a publicly traded company.

The clubs were honey traps for out-of-town businessmen, who blew expense accounts on lap dances and champagne magnums, only to have their hangovers worsened by mind-boggling tabs.

. . .

The plan — presented in a 19-page report — would permit automatic, inflation-adjusted fare and toll increases every two years without public hearings, ending what Mr. Ravitch called a cyclical “political circus.” The plan would allow for a state takeover of the city-owned Harlem River and East River bridges, which have historically been free to drivers. The new tolls would be collected electronically, without toll booths.

“It’s getting better and better,” said Cesar Andrade, who owns Andrade Shoe Repair in the West Village.

“We’ve been getting more customers for the past two or three months, and they’re coming in with more expensive shoes to be repaired.”

As people look for ways to tighten their belts, splurging on a new $150 pair of shoes or boots is no longer an option, says John McLoughlin, president of the Shoe Service Institute of America.

The roughly 7,000 cobblers nationwide are all reporting soaring trade and many of those doing so are here in New York City.

“It’s tough to go and buy a new pair of shoes. I’ll leave these and pick them up tomorrow and they will look like new,” said Kathleen Owen, 30, a financial adviser who always brings her worn out heels to Gary’s Top Shoe Repair in Rockefeller Center.

“I’m a New York City woman, and I hit the pavement a lot. I would not be able to afford nice shoes every time the soles get holes.”

The agency is weighing a plan to close some cash lanes at the nine bridges and tunnels it operates.

And as if that won’t create enough congestion, it may also begin stopping drivers without enough money on their E-ZPasses instead of letting them through and billing them later – saving $3.4 million in mailings.

The possible changes are part of the agency’s plan to close a $1.3 billion budget gap unless city and state lawmakers step in with a crucial bailout package.