Deals affecting the life of every New Yorker are struck here in the back rooms of the State Capitol as New York's three main power brokers hash out their differences in delicate, often protracted negotiations.

But when two of those three men bear such hostility toward each other that they do not even like to sit in the same back room, it can become excruciatingly difficult for the state government to accomplish much of anything.

Many officials here fear that this is exactly what is happening between Gov. George E. Pataki and his main rival in the Legislature, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, on the eve of the 1997 legislative session -- a session facing issues that would be trying under the best conditions, like rent control,, welfare, a projected $3 billion budget shortfall and tougher criminal penalties.

The tensions between them, which spilled into the open in recent days with Mr. Silver leveling a barrage of attacks against Mr. Pataki, have been mounting since the two men clashed during closed-door discussions last month, when the Legislature met for a daylong special session.

With suspicions running high, the nature of negotiating major bills in Albany seems to be changing. More than in the past, Mr. Pataki and Mr. Silvar have begun linking fistfuls of bills to each other, refusing to agree to any one until agreement is--@rt"ached on all..That style of hostage taking was particularly in evidence during the special session when late-moming agreements on half a dozen bills collapsed by late afternoon because of a fight b et'ween Mr. Silv@@-@er and Mr. Pataki over legislative pay, aides to both men say.

The tension has persuaded many legislators, Republicans and Democrats alike, that the 1997 session will be at least as contentious and drawn out as the 1996 session, which produced the latest state budget,in the nation's history and saw an array of important pieces of legislation used as bargaining chips by both sides.

In fact, Mr. Silver strongly suggested in a recent interview that he would follow suit if the Governor held issues hostage in next year's budget talks. "Next year, we may live by his rules," he said, referring to Mr. Pataki. "Two can play the same game."

Of course, it is no surprise that Mr. Pataki, a Republican, and Mr. Silver, a Democrat, would tangle on partisan grounds. But the hostilities between them appear to run so deep that many lawmakers say they have engaged in tactics that have gone beyond the bounds of the routine give-and-take of the legislative process.

The bad blood has resulted in more distrust and fewer meetings between the two men, aides to Mr. Silver say. They say the Speaker believes the Governor is genuinely uncomfortable being in the same room with him and therefore leaves critical issues to be negotiated by staff members.

In the process, Mr. Silver has become less guarded in his criticism of Mr. Pataki, saying after the special session that the Governor has not shown leadership and that he speaks out of both sides of his mouth, criticizing New York City to upstate residents, then telling city residents he is their ally.

Beyond the personality clash, the Governor's and the Speaker's attitudes toward Albany-style politics contrast sharply, reflecting their different experiences in Albany. Mr. Silver has been a diligent student of the Legislature's byzantine ways, rising through the ranks of the Assembly to a variety of leadership roles. By contrast, Mr. Pataki has long cast himself as an outsider, even when he was an Assemblyman and a State Senator.

Mr. Pataki says legislative leaders like Mr. Silver simply have too much power. "Even as a legislator," he said, "I was frustrated by the top-down system because I had ideas and principles that would have helped make this a better state."

The rift has even begun to worry the third member of the Albany triumvirate, Joseph L. Bruno, the Republican majority leader of the State Senate. "I am concerned," he said. "I hope that it gets behind us and we start anew."

The latest round of hostilities began a few weeks ago, when the Legislature convened for the one-day special session. Mr. Pataki and Mr. Silver ended the day by publicly accusing each other of refusing to act on several important pieces of legislation as a means of extracting concessions from each other.

Mr. Silver was particularly outraged that the Governor refused to consider a pay raise for lawmakers because the Speaker would not acquiesce on other issues, including a plan to build a maximum-security prison, according to Mr. Silver's aides and leidslators with knowledge of the negotiations. Mr. Pataki also refused to consider a bill that would extend existing stipends for members who hold leadership positions in the Assembly, a move that the Speaker's aides denounced as a breach of professional courtesy.

All this left Mr. Silver empty-handed when he returned to his members, many of whom have been quietly pressing him to strike a deal for a pay raise. Mr. Silver said he regarded it as extortion for the Governor to link the question of pay raises to complicated pieces of legislation. Pataki aides denied this ever happened.

More important, many Democrats say they believe that the episode was orchestrated by Mr. Pataki to create dissent among Assembly members and thus undermine Mr. Silver as leader'.

"I think they have done a number of things to drive a wedge in the Assembly conference," said Deborah J. Glick, a Democratic Assemblywoman from Manhattan. "I think it was a matter of trying to aggravate individual members."

Privately, there are people close to the Governor who acknowledge that they would like to weaken Mr.Silver's control over the 95 Democrats in the Assembly. That, they reason, might strengthen their ability to build coalitions in the Assembly between conservative Democrats and Republicans.

But others in the Pataki administration contend that the Governor would be best served by trying to reach agreement with the Speaker, not antagonizing him. In fact, many Democrats say that the skirmishes with the Governor may end up strengthening Mr. Silver's hand in the next session.

They say they feel compelled to rally behind him, as they did last year, when Republicans ran television ads aimed at pressuring conservative Democratic Assembly members to break ranks with Mr. Silver, a more liberal Democrat from Manhattan.

"I think the Governor's tactics will backfire," said Martin A. Luster, a Democratic Assemblyman from Ithaca. "I think the conference is solidifying under Shelly, and we will remain united on major issues."

For his part, Mr. Pataki has sought to play down the tensions. "I've read the Speaker's characterizations, and from my standpoint, I will continue to do everything I can to work with the Speaker," he said at a news conference on Monday.

But Mr. Silver's aides say he is disturbed by the disdain he believes Mr. Pataki has shown toward the Legislature during his fast two years as Governor. They cite Mr. Pataki's threat last year to withhold the pay of lawmakers if they failed to enact a budget by the April 15 deadline.

"George feels no relationship with his former colleagues," said Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, a Westchester Democrat. "He has complete contempt for the Legislature's values and needs."

Aides to Mr. Pataki, however, say he has done what is necessary to change longstanding legislative practices that he believes have hurt New York's economy, among other things.

"The Governor was not elected to protect the status quo," said Michael McKeon, a spokesman for the Governor. "Sometimes, it takes a little convincing to bring people along."