In the wake of Lehman Brothers’ meltdown, with the constant worry that the nation is one AIG collapse away from facing another Great Depression, two New York powerhouses, Gov. David Paterson and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, delivered conflicting messages of fear and hope to concerned citizens.

New York Gov. Paterson delivered dismal news yesterday. Paterson warned the public that the crisis on Wall Street could cost the state $1 billion in revenue over the next six months and wipe out as many as 30,000 jobs. Paterson said that the state treasury suffered a 97 percent drop this year from the largest banks’ corporate taxes, and the job losses will have a rippling effect across different industries.

Besides Lehman employees, who fear they will lose their jobs today, and the thousands who’ve already lost a gigantic portion of their stock-funded retirement benefits, the fall also strikes the young man who works at the security desk to the mom who runs the newsstand across the street. Quick chats in elevators this morning weren’t just a nod and a"good morning," but a sincere smile and a "good luck."

The former chairman and CEO of AIG agrees with Paterson’s argument. Hank Greenberg said that AIG, like Lehman, is vital to not just the American company, but around the world. Greenberg just told CNBC this morning that the company needs a bridge loan from the Federal Reserve and relief from rating agencies in order to avoid bankruptcy.

Even New York state teachers’s pension plans were rocked by yesterday’s Lehman crash.

The New York State Teachers $100 billion pension also held an estimated 2.2 million Lehman shares. The pension shares were worth about $36 million at the start of the month; yesterday, they plummeted to about $462,000, the New York Post reports.

"While the full impact of these events may not be known for months — or even years — the fact that financial-services firms that were able to survive the Great Depression, world wars and the September 11 attacks collapsed under the weight of the current fiscal crisis is cause for grave concern," Paterson said during a press conference in his New York City office.

On the other hand, Mayor Bloomberg insisted that "the world is not coming to an end."

While Wall Street accounts for about 20 percent of New York state revenue, or $12 billion, and 9 percent of the city’s revenue, or $3.6 billion, Bloomberg insisted that New Yorkers could weather the storm.

But he would not rule out future tax increases and cuts to services.

"Clearly the amount of money we’re going to have to spend to pay our city labor force, make investments, contract for municipal services is going to be less while the demand for services … is certainly going to grow," Bloomberg said.