Manhattan's St. Regis Hotel has bookings for 90 percent of its 256 rooms this holiday season and tonight will fill the rest of its beds with employees.The hotel, where a standard room sells for $795, has also reserved buses to make sure its staff of 500 is on duty should New York's transit workers strike at midnight. Managers who live in Manhattan will come on foot, says spokeswoman Meg Byrne."Tomorrow, walking distance will take on a new meaning,'' Byrne says. Guests will be able to rely on cars provided by the hotel for ferry service to their favorite attractions.From the Metropolitan Museum of Art to money managers, schools and hospitals, New York is bracing for a rainy day without its 100-year-old underground train system. About 32,000 subway conductors and bus drivers are set to walk out for the first time in a quarter century after months of contract negotiations have failed to produce an agreement.The biggest U.S. city may lose $400 million a day should public transportation grind to a halt, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said yesterday. Stores and tourist spots will lose visitors during the year's most profitable shopping season, companies will suffer when employees can't get to work, and millions of residents will struggle to get their kids to school."It's not a good prospect,'' says Harold Holzer, vice president for external affairs at the Metropolitan Museum on Fifth Avenue, which hosts as many as 20,000 people a day during the holidays. "It's very troubling because, like everyone else in town, this is the busiest time of the year for the Met.''Rainy, Slushy CommuteAdding to the woes, commuters can expect a slushy morning commute, the National Weather Service says. A mixture of rain, snow and sleet will start this evening, said Bill Goodman, a service meteorologist in Brookhaven, New York.The rain, which will be accompanied by gusty winds, likely will end in the morning, he said."It'll be pretty windy and rainy tomorrow morning,'' Goodman said.While many plan to walk, still more New Yorkers may dust off their bicycles, said Noah Budnick, a spokesman for Transportation Alternatives, a 5,500-member non-profit group that discourages the use cars. More than 120,000 New Yorkers ride bikes on an average day, a number that could be three to four times higher if there's a strike, he said."Even with the cold, a lot more people will ride bikes because they have to get to work,'' he said. The average New Yorker's commute is 45 minutes and most subway trips are 5 miles (8 kilometers) or fewer, he said.Getting in LateIn the financial services industry, companies such as Citigroup Inc., the biggest U.S. bank, and Bear Stearns Cos., the fifth-largest U.S. securities firm, also have plans to transport employees using buses and organized carpools. Others will work from home."It's something we have to plan for,'' said Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Financial Officer David Viniar. ``I'll manage to get to work.''Joseph Abate, a subway rider who lives on the Upper West Side, plans to walk the 40 blocks south to his office at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Abate, the securities firm's senior U.S. economist, says he just has to get there in time to prepare for the Commerce Department's current account report at 8:30 a.m."I can probably leave at my normal time, 5:30 a.m., and get in a little late,'' said Abate. ``Of course, it means I will be dressing casual.''Four to a CarAs part of the city's contingency plans, carpoolers will have to have at least four people in their vehicles. Scott Rudnick, a bond salesman at Lehman Brothers on 49th Street, has signed on two colleagues and a friend for an early morning shuttle service from his home on 14th Street."I plan on driving so my biggest concern was finding four people,'' he said. "I found two I work with and another friend who works on Fifth. I come in by 6:45 so I won't have a problem finding a parking garage.''"In the spring or fall, I'd be more than happy to walk but being as cold as it is outside, I'm driving,'' Rudnick said.Smaller firms may have a tougher time. James Awad, who manages $1.4 billion in assets as the head of Awad Asset Management also plans to walk from his East Side apartment. He usually takes two buses to his office at Park Avenue and 47th Street."It's very possible I will be the only person in the office,'' he said. The company's six other New York workers live in Brooklyn and Staten Island and, without subway service, won't be able to come in. His trader, Carol Egan, will work from home.Be There RemotelySkadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, with more than 800 lawyers in the Conde Nast building on 42nd Street, has added a section to its internal company network so that employees can coordinate rides by counties and boroughs, said Laurel Henschel, director of human resources.Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, with about 1,100 lawyers and staff members in New York, is faced with special difficulties because it is located downtown, far from Grand Central Terminal and Pennsylvania Station.The firm is familiar with disaster recovery because it is located at One Liberty Plaza, across from the World Trade Center site, said Allan Sperling, a partner who oversees administration of the New York office.Bloomberg yesterday said he expects all city employees to come to work. The mayor is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.'Major Challenges'New York City Education Department spokesman Keith Kalb said schools will open two hours later tomorrow if there is a strike. New York-Presbyterian Hospital, meanwhile, will do "whatever it takes'' to keep its five locations staffed, Chief Executive Officer Dr. Herbert Pardes said in an interview."We've been through major challenges like this before,'' such as the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and blackouts,'' Pardes said. New York-Presbyterian has a command center that is tied to the mayor's and the New York Hospital Association, he said.Some people are going to forgo transportation altogether.Barry Weissler, who produces the Broadway shows "Chicago'' and "Sweet Charity,'' said he's trying to secure hotel rooms for actors, musicians and the stagehands who shift scenery and adjust lighting. The shows must go on with so many tourists able to reach Times Square on foot."People in their hotels won't have anything else to do,'' Weissler said. "Maybe they'll want walk to the theaters. It could be a windfall.'