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As the city draped itself in black last week to mourn the death of Brooke Astor, stock-market troubles aside, the summer’s darkest days otherwise seemed to have passed.

In a week in which a freak twister whipped through Brooklyn, downing trees and smashing cars, everything seemed like it was spinning.

Citizens left the city in droves as August began, apparently fleeing the cloud of uncertainty that seemed to have settled over the city.

The city was shaken last week when an explosion tore open the ground near Grand Central spewed scalding vapor into the midtown sky, but steam was being blown off everywhere.

Mother Nature cooked up a heat wave to celebrate last week’s 30th anniversary of the ’77 blackout, but GOP front-runner Rudy Giuliani was feeling hot under the collar.

As the rockets’ red glare faded over New York Harbor and the city awaited the auspicious date of 7/7/07, residents had reason to feel lucky.

As the city was drenched alternately by rain and perspiration, Mayor Bloomberg fanned presidential-run rumors by announcing that he’d cooled on the Republican Party.

Rudy Giuliani’s overheated twelve-point plan promising a little something for everyone was nicely in the spirit of a week characterized by hot air.

With public enemy no. 1, Paris Hilton, temporarily behind bars, the city turned its attention to more-mundane threats.

Any week in which scalpers can demand five figures to hear The Police play at the Garden and the pollen count goes through the roof is bound to leave the city gasping for air.