Heart-tugging scenes all, made more dramatic on the TV screen by the male narrator's ominous tone telling us that New York could do a lot for schools, health care and "our neighborhoods" with $600 million. But, the voice warns, that $600 million is going instead for a new Jets stadium on Manhattan's West Side. The screen flashes a telephone number for you to call if you want to protest. Cue the outrage - and aim it directly at the people behind the misleading ad. That would be Madison Square Garden and the father-son team of Charles and James Dolan. Yep, the same Dolans who have given fans those stinker Knicks and Rangers teams are now trying to block Mayor Bloomberg's effort to bring the Jets back to New York. A furious Bloomberg called the ads an outrage. Chutzpah is a nice way to describe what the Dolans are up to by trying to block a competing arena. Hypocrisy would be better, since they are biting the hand that feeds them. The Dolans have gotten rich by cashing in on the same kind of subsidies they now blast. Exhibit A: They struck gold 22 years ago with legislation that has allowed Madison Square Garden to escape all property taxes ever since. When New Yorkers got hit with an 18.5% tax hike last year, the Dolans didn't lose any sleep. Or money. After all, 18.5% of zero is zero. Over the years, that deal has saved $166 million for the Dolans and Cablevision, the $4 billion public company they control. The current year's tax tab, $11.8 million, sits as "forgone revenue" on the city's ledger and can't be collected. Think of it as Madison Scam Garden. And it's a scam that every New Yorker pays for. Look at it this way: If the Garden paid that $11.8 million, Bloomberg could give 29,500 families his $400 property tax rebate. Or he could hire about 150 police officers, 162 teachers or 180 firefighters, according to the Independent Budget Office, which calculates the cost of the inflation-adjusted Garden scam at $207 million since it took effect in the 1984 fiscal year. Ed Koch was mayor then, and he agreed to the tax exemption because Charles Dolan was hinting that costs might force him to take the Knicks and Rangers out of town. It was well-timed corporate blackmail - the Giants had bolted for New Jersey and the Jets were packing their bags. Koch got Albany to back a full exemption that was worth $3.5 million the first year. The value has climbed ever since, and Koch believes enough is more than enough. He told me yesterday he thought the freebie was going to expire after 10 years. "I was shocked," said Koch. "I believe they should be paying taxes." There is one more strange twist. The Dolans got a combined $10.8 million in bonus and salary last year - and millions more in stock options.

Imagine if they gave that money to schools, firehouses . . . oh, never mind. Might as well expect pigs to fly.