Rough water in The Rockaways. Photo by Kit Dillon

As Hurricane Sandy approaches, our staff is out in the city, reporting on preparations and the storm's impact. Refresh the page as needed, since this post will remain open and updated with the latest.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30

[5:59 p.m.] Highlights from Mayor Bloomberg's presser:

• "Coney Island Hospital is being evacuated."
• City parks are closed and will remain closed till further notice.
• Trash collection resumes Tuesday evening. Recycling is still on hold.
• The criminal courts are closed, save for "emergency matters."
• The mayor encouraged residents to enjoy Halloween as usual, "but use good judgment."

[5:52 p.m.] Rest easy, Midtown residents, the Department of Buildings says the dangling and broken crane drooping from One57 appears safe. It will, however, take some time to secure the structure.

[5:31 p.m.] The Village Halloween Parade has been canceled and will not be re-scheduled. The New York Marathon, however, is still on.

[4:48 p.m.] Sandy took five lives on Staten Island. The dead include Angela Dresch, age 13, and NYPD officer Arthur Kasprzak, who was assigned to the 1st Precinct in Manhattan. Officer Kasprzak was killed in his South Beach home, possibly from electrocuted in his flooded basement.

[4:44 p.m.] Nick Denton calls his Sandy-besieged Gawker Media "the indestructible cockroaches of the media world." Hey, he said it.

[4:08 p.m.] The U.S. death toll from Superstorm Sandy is nearing 40. Two were killed by a fallen tree in Brooklyn's Ditmas Park.

[3:51 p.m.] Reuters reports on telecom disruptions. AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile have all had problems but Verizon has been hardest hit, partly due to flooding at Verizon facilities in Queens and Lower Manhattan.

[3:47 p.m.] Colin Campbell has collected still more images of Sandy's aftermath from Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx.

[2:57 p.m.] NBC News reports that President Obama will travel to New Jersey on Wednesday to survey damage from the storm.

[2:31 p.m.] Jessica Roy surveys the flooded Dumbo neighborhood in Brooklyn. We've also begun a list of options for those who want to help others in the storm's aftermath.

[2:24 p.m.] In a White House account of President Obama's calls to mayors and governors in regions affected by Sandy, the President told state officials to keep track and stay in touch regarding needs unmet in the ongoing federal response to the disaster. President Obama also said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, would "remain in constant contact."

[1:17 p.m.] BNO News has a full transcript of Mayor Bloomberg's press briefing.

[12:58 p.m.] The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is continuing a "heightened watch over nuclear power plants in the Northeastern U.S. impacted by Sandy."

[12:22 p.m.] Apparent raw video of houses burning in Breezy Point, Queens provides a portrait of a disaster in progress:

Politicker reports the Breezy Point blaze destroyed the homes of Congressman Bob Turner and State Conservative Party chair Mike Long.

[11:45 a.m.] MSNBC reports the death toll from Hurricane Sandy in all states affected by the storm has risen to 26 29.

[11:34 a.m.] Governor Andrew Cuomo said during an 11:30 a.m. press briefing that Sandy caused "some of the worst conditions that I have seen." He also heralded "the heroism of our first responders" as the flood waters surged in Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan. The governor said "anyone that says there is not a change in weather patterns is denying reality" and said he'd joked with the president that there is a "100-year flood every two years now." Read a full report on the governor's presser here.

[11:22 a.m.] Matt Chaban adds details from the mayor's press conference.

[11:07 a.m.] The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the New York Stock Exchange will resume trading on Wednesday. Also--in an 11 a.m. press briefing, Mayor Bloomberg said 80 houses had been lost to fire in Breezy Point. Regarding public transport, the mayor said, "If we had to guess, ConEd and the subways [will be back up in] three to four days, and I'd be happy if that's the case."

[10:58 a.m.] From the 311 Online, at NYC.gov:

Due to Hurricane Sandy:Public schools will be closed.

Alternate side parking and meters are suspended.

Garbage and recycling collection are suspended while the City responds to the aftermath of the hurricane.

New York City water is safe to drink.

[10:55 a.m.] Reuters reports commuter train service between New Jersey and Manhattan may be suspended for up to ten days.

[10:52 a.m.] Unconfirmed reports indicate the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges have re-opened.

[10:43 a.m.] The MTA's Flickr account has been updated with photos (like the one below) of devastation caused by the Superstorm.

Flickr/MTAPhotos

[10:36 a.m.] Using Storify, Brooklyn-based tech author Deanna Zandt tells the saga of holding her roof down for six hours on Monday night.

[10:28 a.m.] Breezy Point was struck by a tornado in early September. Last night the area burned, and multiple homes were destroyed by a six alarm fire.

[10:17 a.m.] In a press briefing, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said that "there is major damage on each and every one of New Jersey's rail lines." He also said 91 N.J. healthcare facilities had power outages due to the storm. Gov. Christie also said that the "level of damage at the Jersey Shore is unthinkable."

[10:03 a.m.] Matt Chaban provides multiple views of One57's infamous dangling crane, which continues to loom like a tired vulture over Midtown and Carnegie Hall.

[9:53 a.m.] The Observer's Patrick Clark surveyed the damage in Williamsburg.

NBC New York's man in New Jersey, Brian Thompson, tweets a stunning photo of destruction in Seaside Heights:

Casino Pier roller coaster now a water ride Seaside heights #sandy @jshurricanenews #stormteam4 lockerz.com/s/257477603

— Brian Thompson (@brian4NY) October 30, 2012

Photo by Brian Thompson, NBC NY.

[9:44 a.m.] The AFP reports that Sandy has forced shutdowns at two nuclear plants:

New Jersey's main power company PSEG Nuclear shut down its Salem 1 unit on the Delaware river, saying most of its water circulation pumps had been rendered unusable "due to weather impacts".

The AFP notes that "external electrical grid" problems forced Entergy to switch off a unit at the Indian Point nuclear facility.

[9:41 a.m.] We've posted new photos that vividly illustrate the wrath of the Superstorm.

[9:29 a.m.] It's official: President Obama declares New York and New Jersey disaster zones. Related--Jezebel's Anna Holmes (no link to Jez because Gawker and Huffington Post were still offline as of 9:15 a.m.) spoke with an MTA employee and it wasn't good. Ms. Holmes tweets, "MTA worker outside 7 train (which goes underneath river) after I asked him about water level in Vernon/Jackson station: He shook his head."

[1:55 a.m.] MTA chairman Joseph J. Lhota has issued a statement addressing commuter service recovery, post-Sandy. The full text is below:

The New York City subway system is 108 years old, but it has never faced a disaster as devastating as what we experienced last night. Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on our entire transportation system, in every borough and county of the region. It has brought down trees, ripped out power and inundated tunnels, rail yards and bus depots. As of last night, seven subway tunnels under the East River flooded. Metro-North Railroad lost power from 59th Street to Croton-Harmon on the Hudson Line and to New Haven on the New Haven Line. The Long Island Rail Road evacuated its West Side Yards and suffered flooding in one East River tunnel. The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel is flooded from end to end and the Queens Midtown Tunnel also took on water and was closed. Six bus garages were disabled by high water. We are assessing the extent of the damage and beginning the process of recovery. Our employees have shown remarkable dedication over the past few days, and I thank them on behalf of every New Yorker. In 108 years, our employees have never faced a challenge like the one that confronts us now. All of us at the MTA are committed to restoring the system as quickly as we can to help bring New York back to normal.

[1:32 a.m.] NYU originally planned to evacuate Tisch Hospital, but now it looks like power has failed to the larger facility (NYU Langone) and the hospital must evacuate everyone.

[12:44 a.m.] Scanner traffic indicates multiple fires in Queens and Brooklyn. The Observer's Hunter Walker encountered one:

Fire on Bond & president. twitter.com/hunterw/status…

— Hunter Walker (@hunterw) October 30, 2012

FDNY scanner traffic streams live online at NYCFire.net.

[12:17 a.m.] Power failure has forced NYU to evacuate patients to Mt Sinai and Sloane-Kettering, which is bad enough--now there are reports from multiple sources that Bellevue Hospital may have, at best, two hours of generator power left. Earlier reports of a fire at Coney Island Hospital were in error.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 29

[11:57 p.m.] Someone captured the collapse of a Brooklyn Manhattan building's façade on video (via Charlie Todd):

[11:41 p.m.] Citing reports from local officials,  the AFP reports the U.S. death toll from Sandy stands at 12.

[11:28 p.m.] Across Long Island Sound:  The Weather Channel reports that the National Guard is currently evacuating "hundreds" of people who failed to heed warnings to evacuate Greenwich, CT.

[11:21 p.m.] Even though it reports that Superstorm Sandy is still "packing hurricane-force winds," the National Hurricane Center has issued its final advisory about the storm, stating that future warnings will be handled by the National Weather Service.

[11:04 p.m.] Breaking News Wire reports: "The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is continuing to monitor impacts from Hurricane Sandy on nuclear power plants in the Northeastern United States, including an Alert declared at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in New Jersey. The plant, currently in a regularly scheduled outage, declared the Alert at approximately 8:45 p.m. EDT due to water exceeding certain high water level criteria in the plant’s water intake structure."

[10:56 p.m.] Coney Island Hospital is reportedly on fire and surrounded by several feet of water.

[10:45 p.m.] Hunter Walker has been tracking the Gowanus flooding and tells the story in pictures, here.

[10:33 p.m.] The Wall Street Journal's Tamer El-Ghobashy reports, "Woman electrocuted to death in Queens after stepping into puddle of water at 135 st and 105 ave, per NYPD source." 

[10:29 p.m.] Marie Claire deputy editor Lea Goldman reports that, contrary to one Instagram photo going around, the lights are still on in Harlem.

[10:26 p.m.] If you've still got power and you're looking for a way to pass the time, rest assured you've got options. @BravoTV just announced: "You guys!!! #AndysHurricaneParty is LIVE at 11. RT if you're watching. #WWHL."

[10:19 p.m.] An update from City Councilman Dan Garodnick:

As of an hour ago, there is no power at Peter Cooper Village or Stuyvesant Town.  There is flooding on 14th, 20th and 23rd Streets, well toward 1st Avenue.  There is considerable flooding deep within the property itself. Everyone should remain inside.  Contrary to news reports, PCV/ST is not being evacuated.  Stay off the roads and move to higher ground if need be.

[10:16 p.m.] The Weather Channel reports that the water level at the Battery has dropped slightly since hitting a peak of 13.88 feet.

[10:13 p.m.] A bit of bad news from that Bloomberg presser: NYU Hospital's backup generators aren't working (despite assurances they would). Evacuations in progress.

[10:07 p.m.] An earlier report of water on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange turns out to have been false, and here's footage confirming all's well.

[10:03 p.m.] Here's a snapshot of someone in Greenpoint strapping on a snorkel to rescue a friend, via Gary He on Twitter.

[9:58 p.m.] Mayor Bloomberg, in the latest press conference update: "If you see a wire on the ground, don't touch it."  There's something like a quarter of a million people without power. Also, don't call 911 for things that aren't a life-threatening emergency. "You are putting other people's lives at risk by occupying the line." Also, don't drive, and all taxi and livery car drivers are being pulled from the road.

[9:56 p.m.] Good news, everyone. As per Brew PR founder Brooke Hammerling, there's at least one place you can turn for electricity: "st. Regis has power. And room service."

[9:35 p.m.] Trillian Media posted this video of one of ConEd transformer explosions that occurred during the storm's heaviest onslaught. The real fireworks begin around 3:20.

[9:26 p.m.] Sandy's storm surge is at 13 feet, breaking an 11-foot record set in 1921.

Lights have gone out at the World Trade Center.

Add to that the flooding, which is epic in both Lower Manhattan and Hoboken, as demonstrated by this disaster movie-worthy capture from a PATH subway station security camera, posted on Instagram by writer Joel Johnson:

photo by Joel Johnson

[9:11 p.m.] Major subway lines have flooded. The MTA has announced that subways are closed for the rest of the week.

[9:06 p.m.] AnimalNewYork editor Bucky Turco posted a tweet that speaks for itself:

Huge explosion just rocked the East Village, everything went dark and I mean dark.#Sandy I'm now legit scared. twitter.com/buckyturco/sta…

— Bucky Turco(@buckyturco) October 30, 2012

[8:59 p.m.] Tablet editor Alana Newhouse tweeted an unsettling photo of Manhattan:

Lights out, Manhattan. Creepy. From promenade. twitter.com/alananewhouse/…

— Alana Newhouse (@alananewhouse) October 30, 2012

[8:51 p.m.] Chatter over the FDNY scanner indicates Bellevue Hospital is having difficulty starting its generators due to a flooded basement. Reports on social media indicate the power outage has trapped people in elevators.

[8:45 p.m.] Emergency service scanner traffic indicates another building has partially collapsed at 38th Street and 13th Avenue in Brooklyn. Firefighters are on the scene and have radioed for EMS assistance.

[8:42 p.m.] Flood waters have closed La Guardia. The Weather Channel reports water is rising in the Hugh Carey Tunnel.

[8:36 p.m.] @NYScanner, a Twitter account that simply tracks New York emergency service and police radio broadcast online, reports that rising waters are affecting Brooklyn's finest: "Brooklyn: 60 Precinct Station house Being evacuated att (sic), Reports of numerous officers trapped."

[8:31 p.m.] Superstorm Sandy has even affected the Statue of Liberty. The Times reports that some time near 7 p.m., "the torch at the top of the Statue of Liberty, which shone all through thick daytime fog, driving rain and an early nightfall, went black."

[8:24 p.m.] It looks like staff at the New York Daily News are trapped by the rising waters:

We have just been warned NOT to go downstairs. The lobby to 4 New York Plaza is now flooded. bit.ly/SkKyvM #Sandy

— New York Daily News (@nydailynews) October 30, 2012

[8:19 p.m.] Superstorm Sandy has knocked WNYC offline. The public radio station reports rising waters at its New Jersey transmitter site are to blame.

[7:59 p.m.] In a press briefing held early Monday evening Mayor Bloomberg noted that no fatalities had been reported due to Hurricane Sandy. WNBC now reports a falling tree apparently killed a 30-something man in his residence on 166th Street.

[7:54 p.m.] The Weather Channel reports cars under water near 14th Street and Avenue C in the East Village. It also reports that rising waters at Battery Park have already exceeded previous records and will continue rising.

[7:51 p.m.] The RFK Bridge has been closed due to winds gusting up to 100 m.p.h.

[7:42 p.m.] New York City's homeless population is especially vulnerable as the massive superstorm bears down on the region.

[7:35 p.m.] HuffPo's Meg Robertson tweets a striking image of the building collapse that occurred at 92 8th Avenue:

Across the street from 92 8th Avenue where building facade collapse just happened. (ok to use, plz credit me) twitter.com/MegRobertson/s…

— Meg Robertson (@MegRobertson) October 29, 2012

[7:25 p.m.] Hurricane/post-tropical cyclone/whatever Sandy has momentarily taken all of Gawker Media offline. Attempts to load Gawker.com at 7:27 p.m. returned a "connect to upstream server timedout" status message. Poynter reports HuffPo and BuzzFeed are also offline. Here's Gawker's tweet explaining the outage:

Gawker is temporarily down because the 57th Street Crane just flooded our servers with sea foam, or something. Back with you shortly.

— Gawker (@Gawker) October 29, 2012

[7:15 p.m.] Don't fret about the Gowanus flooding; the Mayor says "we'll clean it up like everything else." Sandy hasn't dampened Mayor Bloomberg's enthusiasm for waterfront development, either.

[7:08 p.m.] Hurricane Sandy semi-officially came ashore over Cape May, N.J. around 6 p.m. Monday (the National Hurricane Center has not confirmed landfall). The storm is still deadly and wreaking havoc across the northeast, but has been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone.

[6:49 p.m.] Multiple social media reports indicate a four-story building located at 92 8th Avenue in Manhattan has collapsed. That's also the location of the Muscle Maker Grill. Business Insider reports there were apartments in the building and people may be trapped inside (Ed. ~ Scanner reports say no one is trapped in the structure).

[6:20 p.m.] Hurricane Sandy has turned everyone with a camera phone into on-the-scene reporters, including BillGuard founder Yaron Samid, who tweeted the following dramatic photo:

Just now outside my window, huge tree branch falls on moving NYC taxi with passengers. Everyone ok. #ireport #sandy twitter.com/YaronSamid/sta…

— Yaron Samid (@YaronSamid) October 29, 2012

[6:10 p.m.] Since ConEd may switch off power in lower Manhattan and southern Brooklyn, customers may want to keep on eye on this map to keep track of power failures. Until, that is, your own power goes out.

[5:51 p.m.] In a press conference, Mayor Bloomberg said ConEd may shut off power in parts of Brooklyn and in lower Manhattan. The Mayor said 47,000 residents in Queens and Staten Island are in the dark. The Mayor also said public transit will remain closed through Tuesday. The good news is that so far, there have been no known fatalities. The Mayor also emphasized that this storm is not just "nasty, this is dangerous."

[5:33 p.m.] WABC's Kemberly Richardson was reporting from the flooding South Street Seaport  when she had an epic idiot sighting, which you can watch below. It is inadvisable to ride a jet ski in these conditions. To say the least.

[5:12 p.m.] No real surprise here: NY1 reports city schools will be closed again Tuesday. Also, here's NY1's list of bridges that will close at 7 p.m. Monday:

• Throgs Neck Bridge
• Bronx-Whitestone Bridge
• Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
• Henry Hudson Bridge
• Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge
• Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
• George Washington Bridge

The Bayonne, Goethals, Outerbridge Crossing and Robert F. Kennedy/Triborough bridges will remain open for the time being.

[5:01 p.m.] The 5:00 p.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center isn't any more comforting than the previous advisories. Hurricane Sandy is still a monster with "an extremely dangerous storm surge" that will combine with the tides tonight to "cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters."

[4:42 p.m.] The following is from the National Hurricane Center's 4 p.m. bulletin about Hurricane Sandy:

LATEST REPORTS FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT...
AS WELL AS NOAA DOPPLER RADAR OBSERVATIONS...INDICATE THAT SANDY IS NOW MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST. ON THIS TRACK...THE CENTER OF SANDY IS EXPECTED TO REACH THE COAST OF EXTREME SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY OR CENTRAL DELAWARE WITHIN THE NEXT 3 TO 5 HOURS.

[4:16 p.m.] CNN's Weather Center tweets that some 765,000 customers in ten states and the District of Columbia are currently without power due to Hurricane Sandy.

[4:09 p.m.] While flooding and dangerous situations like the collapsed crane at One57are the main concerns during an epochal storm like Sandy, much of the storm damage around the city is wind-related, as demonstrated by this shot from Flatbush and Clarkson Avenues in Brooklyn.

Photo by Kit Dillon.

[3:50 p.m.]Reuters journalist Pedro da Costa tweets a remarkable and frightening photo of a familiar New Jersey road:

Boardwalk Empire under water: The road to Atlantic City twitter.com/pdacosta/statu… — Pedro da Costa (@pdacosta) October 29, 2012

[3:41 p.m.] Likely because of the partially collapsed crane atop the 90-story building, Reuters reports that city officials have ordered evacuations for the top floors of numerous buildings near One57 in Midtown Manhattan.

[3:38 p.m.] New York's Fox 5 reports ConEd plans to shut off power to most of Battery Park City--a major flood zone.

[3:34 p.m.] Superstorm or no superstorm, the MTA and Port Authority still want us to pay our damned tolls.

[3:28 p.m.] The Tappan Zee Bridge will be closed beginning at 4 p.m. today, per Governor Cuomo.

[3:23 p.m.]WABC meterologist Amy Freeze tweets a remarkable statistic and a stark warning about Hurricane Sandy:

Pressure of 940mb strongest EVER with landfall N of Cape Hatteras #SandyABC7 STORM SURGE expect EXTREME COASTAL DAMAGE twitter.com/AmyFreeze7/sta… — Amy Freeze (@AmyFreeze7) October 29, 2012

[3:20 p.m.] The Observer's Matt Chaban talked to developer Gary Barnett about the crane collapse at One57.

[3:15 p.m.] In a separate bulletin, the National Hurricane Center is more precise about where the hurricane's official landfall. Don't blame us for the capslock blast, this is just how meteorologists roll:

THE CENTER OF SANDY IS EXPECTED TO REACH THE COAST OF EXTREME SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY OR CENTRAL DELAWARE WITHIN THE NEXT 3 TO 5 HOURS.

[3:07 p.m.] The National Hurricane Center saysHurricane Sandy's landfall is just a few hours away:

...CENTER OF SANDY HEADING TOWARD SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY... ...LANDFALL EXPECTED BY EARLY THIS EVENING...

Sandy has picked up speed. It will transition into a "Nor'easter hybrid" sometime around 8 p.m.--right about the time it's striking New Jersey and New York head-on and just before the full moon causes evening high tides.

[2:48 p.m.] Multiple reports over social media indicate a crane has collapsed or partially collapsed at One57 in Midtown Manhattan. A photo posted on CNN exec Jonathan Wald's Instagram account confirms the incident. Asked about cranes around the city in a press conference Sunday, Mayor Bloomberg indicated authorities felt they could withstand the storm. Maybe not. [2:46 p.m.] The Weather Channel's Hurricane Central Twitter account reports that hurricane force winds have begun battering the New Jersey shore.

[2:22 p.m.] The U.S. stock exchange will remain closed Tuesday. The New York Times reports that this "is the first weather-related closure of the American stock markets since Hurricane Gloria in 1985."

[2:08 p.m.] The National Hurricane Center has issued a 2 p.m. advisoryabout Hurricane Sandy. The storm remains intense and won't lose a step once it transitions into an extra-tropical system:

REPORTS FROM THE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT THE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS REMAIN NEAR 90 MPH...150 KM/H...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SANDY IS EXPECTED TO TRANSITION INTO A FRONTAL OR WINTERTIME LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM LATER TODAY OR TONIGHT. HOWEVER...THIS TRANSITION WILL NOT BE ACCOMPANIED BY A WEAKENING OF THE SYSTEM...

[2:01 p.m.] The @NYScanner Twitter account reports a building may have collapsed in Brooklyn:

Brooklyn: 1304 39 St NYPD ESU on scene with a partial building collapsed, Requesting FDNY & EMS to the scene. — NY Scanner (@NYScanner) October 29, 2012

Google Street View indicates this may be a block of small businesses and shops.

[1:57 p.m.] Drew Grant put on an Intrepid Reporter hat and braved the storm to chat with The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore, who may or may not be the Grim Reaper in disguise.

[1:43 p.m.] Because no one listens to dire warnings of death anymore, here is a shot of surfers inexplicably heading out to sea near 110th street in The Rockaways.

Idiots. Photo by Kit Dillon.

[1:37 p.m.] The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Serviceshas tweeted phone numbers that might be helpful to those seeking information or assistance:

Residents can call 888-769-7243 or 518-485-1159 for #hurricane #Sandyinfo & impact.Also for referrals to county offices & ARC shelters — NYS DHSES (@NYSDHSES) October 29, 2012

[1:25 p.m.] A video made at the beach in Delray Beach, Florida on Sunday is a potent demonstration of the power of Hurricane Sandy. Surf stirred up by the 1,000-mile wide superstorm generated a sudden, tsunami-like wave that took onlookers by surprise:

[1:12 p.m.] Atlantic City, N.J. has implemented a city-wide curfew between 6 p.m. Monday and 6 a.m. Tuesday. Additionally, ABC New York reports mandatory evacuations have been ordered in the vicinity of Front St. and Elizabeth Ave. in Elizabeth, N.J.

[1:06 p.m.] Kelly Faircloth braved the wilds of Astoria to report on preparations there--in some places, they're giving out storm manicures. Meanwhile, Atlanta must host a stranded Reverend Al Sharpton until conditions improve.

[12:57 p.m.]Mayor Bloomberg's office has an unambiguous message for anyone who thinks they can ride out the storm in Zone A:

If you are still in Zone A and have a way to get out, leave IMMEDIATELY. Conditions are quickly getting worse. #Sandy — NYC Mayor's Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) October 29, 2012

[12:45 p.m.] In a White House briefing, President Barack Obama said, "this is going to be a big and powerful storm." He noted that he had spoken to governors in all affected states and that FEMA was activated to assist communities hard-hit by Hurricane Sandy. The president said his most important message was for the public to listen to instructions from officials advising on storm preparations and do as they directed. The president directed the public to check Ready.gov for information and updates. Asked how he thought the storm might affect the election, President Obama said in part, "the election will take care of itself next week."

[12:14 p.m.]The signs of The End, when they came, were subtle, but telling:

THIS IS IT. GAME OVER. RT @nicknotned: @felixsalmon @weareyourfek News update: Balthazar has now closed. Repeat. Balthazar has now closed. — Foster Kamer (@weareyourfek) October 29, 2012

This is, however, not the first time we've noted the dire implications in Balthazar shuttering against the blast.

[12:03 p.m.] Aaron Gell reminds helicopter owners, enthusiasts, etc. that you can't lift off from the 30th Street Heliport on the West Side. Choppers don't work underwater.

[11:27 a.m.] President Obama will make a statement about Hurricane Sandy from the White House briefing room at 12:45 today.

[11:21 a.m.] NBC Connecticut reports via Twitter that a flooded substation means 35,000 Bridgeport residents will lose power by noon.

[11:13 a.m.] The Observer's Jessica Roy took a walk through Zone A and files another dispatch from Dumbo's Evacuation Zone.

[11:07 a.m.]There is major flooding on Long Island. The Village of Lindenhurst, east of Amityville, is just one example:

Viewer photo of Shore Road in Lindenhurst. #Sandy #LongIsland twitter.com/News12LI/statu… — News12LI (@News12LI) October 29, 2012

[10:40 a.m.] The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reportsthat Hurricane Sandy now has sustained 90 m.p.h. winds:

Summary of 1100 am edt, 1500 utc, information [...] location, 37.5n 71.5w about 205 mi, 330 km se of atlantic city New Jersey about 260 mi, 415 km sse of New York city maximum sustained winds, 90 mph, 150 km/h present movement, nnw or 330 degrees at 18 mph, 30 km/h minimum central pressure, 943 mb, 27.85 inches

[10:32 a.m.] New York will close the Holland and Battery tunnels at 2 p.m. Monday.

[10:06 a.m.]Only in the age of Twitter can we marvel at a compelling photo of a flooding Atlantic City, N.J. with a boardwalk floating in the streets and brush aside the fact that the person who posted the photo is screen-named "Hoeboma":

Atlantic City --> RT @hoeboma: Damn the boardwalk gone uptown instagr.am/p/RXfhKxDL7F/ #Sandy — Hurricane Central (@twc_hurricane) October 29, 2012

[7:00 a.m.]  The New York Stock Exchange scuttled its plan for electronic trading shortly after midnight and will be completely closed today, as will Nasdaq. As The Observer earlier reported this is the first time the exchange has been closed due to hurricane since Gloria in 1985. See Forbes for more.

[6:32 a.m.] First rain coming down in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

[4:29 a.m.] Storm fronts weren't the only things joining forces during the night, as Random House and Penguin agree to merge.

[12:32 a.m.] The Gowanus Canal is beginning to rise. Hunter Walker goes inside the evacuation zone to report on those who have decided to stay in spite of the rising waters.

[12:32 a.m.] Despite being locked inside, Williamsburg high rise residents decide to stay put.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28

[11:55 p.m.] Looking Back: The "first" Hurricane Sandy was a ham radio drill.

[11:44 p.m.] Manhattanites flee the country for city sanctuaries as Sandy approaches.

[11:42 p.m.] The center of Hurricane Sandy is about 475 miles southeast of New York and according to CNN, recent reports from hurricane hunting aircraft indicate the storm is strengthening. It has sustained winds of 75 m.p.h. and has re-developed an eyewall.

[10:50 p.m.] Citing an unnamed source, Reuters reports via its Twitter account that U.S. stock markets may be closed on Tuesday, due to "concerns about market integrity." The markets were already slated to close on Monday, with trading taking place only on the electronic exchange. It now appears even electronic trading may be halted through Tuesday.

MTAphotos/Flickr

In a different vein--the MTA's Flickr account has been updated with new photos of empty stations. The images (like the one on the left) are a haunting portrait of a city standing still.

[10:28 p.m.] Governor Andrew Cuomo's office has issued a tentative schedule for Monday. In addition to morning press events, the governor plans to deploy the New York National Guard beginning at 1 p.m. tomorrow. Writing for Betabeat, Myles Tanzer reports on how Hurricane Sandy has seriously rained on the New York tech startup's party parade this weekend.

[10:14 p.m.] Jezebelfounder Anna Holmes tweets from Gantry Park around 9 p.m. that the waters are on the rise:

Ok. Gantry Park on the river. Water level almost up to piers. Usually 4-5 feet lower. twitter.com/AnnaHolmes/sta… — Anna Holmes (@AnnaHolmes) October 29, 2012

[10:05 p.m.] Because knowing what Lindsay Lohan thinks about our view of Hurricane Sandy is a vital burning question, here's some comic relief:

WHY is everyone in SUCH a panic about hurricane (i'm calling it Sally)..? Stop projecting negativity! Think positive and pray for peace. — Lindsay Lohan (@lindsaylohan) October 29, 2012

That should do the trick.

[9:13 p.m.] With mass transit closed and dangerous storm surges set to wallop the city, New York startups aren’t messing around when it comes to hurricane prep. Most, like Useablenet, Kickstarter, HowAboutWe and SideTour, are urging employees to work from home due to the closure of the MTA system. More at Betabeat.

[9:07 p.m.]The Observer's Hunter Walker reports via Twitter that the Gowanus Canal is already beginning to flood at Second Street.

[8:27 p.m.] Michael H. Miller drops by the last subway still open on the Upper East Side, the Subway Inn, where they're waiting for something really bad to happen.

[7:29 p.m.] Jessica Roy surveys Dumbo as the neighborhood prepares.

[7:29 p.m.] President Obama signs New York emergency declaration.

[7:13 p.m.]Mandatory Hurricane Sandy evacuations include Zone A, Hoboken and Stamford.

[7:07 p.m.] Grand Central Terminal is locked shortly after the last train departure.

[7:04 p.m.] As the storm surge threatens, paywalls recede at the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, reports Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke.

[7:01 p.m] New York Stock Exchange to open, electronically, in spite of Sandy.

[6:44 p.m.] Ahead of Sandy, Obama and Romney request red cross contributions.

[6:41 p.m.] Mayor’s Office and Google team to create crisis map.

[6:40 p.m.] Dan D'Addario investigates where you should drink tonight.

[6:27 p.m.] The Reanimation Library, yards from the Gowanus Canal, evacuates its collection for the second hurricane in little more than a year.

[6:04 p.m.] As Sandy nears, galleries cancel openings.

[2:45 p.m.] Broadway performances canceled Sunday and Monday.

[11:30 a.m.] Mayor Bloomberg calls for evacuation of low-lying areas, closes schools Monday.

[10:50 a.m.] MTA shutting down subways, buses and trains starting at 7 p.m. Sunday

Predicted track of the storm. (NHC)

We hope you made use of the public transportation available before 7 p.m. Sunday and are not reading this from Zone A, which as NYC.gov tells us, should be empty now. Evacuation orders have reached across the waters as well, affecting New Jersey and Connecticut.

The City of Hoboken wants everyone out of "all ground floor apartments" by midnight Sunday night. They urge residents on upper floors to offer street-level neighbors lodging. Hoboken shelters will allow pets as well, as long as they are safely crated.

The mayor of Stamford Connecticut also ordered mandatory evacuations for some residents there on Sunday. Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia's evacuation order also targeted street-level residents. The mayor said, "Due to expected high tides, unprecedented storm surges, and heavy rains, I am advising anyone that lives in a low-lying area or along river flood plain areas, to relocate to higher ground."

Hurricane Sandy only continues to grow more epic--blizzard warnings have even been issued for interior portions of some mid-Atlantic states south of New Jersey.

The 5 p.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center did not mince words regarding the potential danger of the storm:

...SANDY EXPECTED TO BRING LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGE FLOODING TO
THE MID-ATLANTIC COAST...INCLUDING LONG ISLAND SOUND AND NEW YORK
HARBOR...
...WILL BRING COASTAL HURRICANE WINDS AND HEAVY APPALACHIAN SNOWS...

Mayor Bloomberg's office has also coordinated with Google to create a crisis map to help track warnings, borough shelter locations and news alerts.

From the UWS to Westport.

There comes a time in many TV personality's lives when the hustle and bustle of the city ceases to charm and Connecticut's countryside beckons.

Fox & Friends' weekend co-host Alisyn Camerota and husband Timothy Lewis are the latest to heed the siren call of the upscale suburbs, trading in their two-bedroom, two-bathroom co-op on the Upper West Side for a massive, shingle-style abode in Westport, Conn. 

Ms. Camerota has more than one thing in common with another photogenic host who recently abandoned her UWS apartment for a Greenwich manse: she is also selling at a loss. City records show that Ms. Camerota and husband let their brownstone co-op at 128 West 78th Street go for a mere $1.65 million after paying $1.79 million for it back in 2007.

Ms. Camerota, who has three children, may just have been desperate for some more space to spread out. Even if it meant abandoning a spot close to the Natural History Museum—one of the family's favorite haunts.

Their new home, or at least the address listed on the deed, has six bedrooms, porches, soaring ceilings and a pool. It was recently purchased for $3 million.

The buyers of Ms. Camerota's old co-op, John and Katie Goulah, will enjoy a spread that extends from the garden level to the first floor and features a living room/dining room with atrium glass, built-ins in the master bedroom and a sunny, South-facing garden.

"You’ll have it all!" exclaims the listing, held by Prudential Douglas Elliman brokers Ann Cutbill Lenane and Deirdre DeRisi. Just not as much as you could have for that much money in the wealthy enclaves of the Constitution State.

kvelsey@observer.com

Why not buy an apartment in Manhattan?

After a failed U.S. Senate and gubernatorial campaign, it would appear Connecticut's perpetual political challenger Ned Lamont has finally decided to stop courting the voters of the Nutmeg state.

Instead of hitting the campaign trail for a third time, it would seem that Mr. Lamont has focused his sights on the many charms of Manhattan, where he and wife Ann Huntress Lamont have snapped up a $4.6 million condo at 301 West 57th Street, according to city records.

A high perch over Columbus Circle

We assume that the two-bedroom property will be a pied-a-terre for the Greenwich-dwellers. After all, Mr. Lamont, a telecommunications entrepreneur and heir was one of the biggest self-funding politicians in the country, when he went up against current Governor Dannel P. Malloy in the 2010 primary. He could certainly afford something more lavish if he was going to make his primary residence here.

And really, we can't imagine why he would, unless he's hoping to follow in the footsteps of New York transplant Hilary Clinton. In any event, it should make a nice place to stay while attending the summer's many political fundraisers.

The property, listed for $4.9 million with Brown Harris Stevens brokers Drew Glick and Richard Ferrari, spent a little over three months on the market. And while seller Vincent Polimeni didn't get all that he asked for, he still did well considering he bought it for $3.6 million in 2008.

As for the apartment itself, one would feel a little like the king of the world (if not the governor of Connecticut) looking down from the 52nd floor out over Columbus Circle, Central Park and well, pretty much everything else in the city.

"One of the most mesmerizing views in Manhattan!" the listing gushes, which the Lamonts will be able to enjoy from 180 degrees of windows from their living room. There are also two balconies and the usual high-end stuff: marble baths, herringbone wood floors, excellent closet space.

Mr. Lamont should fit right in here. In fact, the noted Walmart basher could very well score a power position in New York's battle against the big box retailer (provided he's pulled his stock out of the company by now).

kvelsey@observer.com

A succinct explanation of the term, "U.F.O." (Flickr/Tonynetone)

We know, it's surreal and bizarre. But there you go: the fact remains that a Connecticut state trooper and motorist reported a U.F.O.  in Litchfield, Connecticut Wednesday night. The story was even picked up by the staid and decidedly non-U.F.O. friendly Associated Press. The following mysterious event remains unexplained as of late Thursday:

... [A] person driving in Litchfield at about 2 a.m. Tuesday reported that a green, glowing object the size of a whale fell from the sky and crashed into Bantam Lake. Officials say that at about the same time, a state trooper 10 miles away in Warren called dispatchers to report that something fell out of the sky and landed near Bantam or Morris.

One of the witnesses reportedly said the object was "whale-sized." Morris-based searchers trolled Bantam Lake trying to find some sign of a plane crash or perhaps wrinkled, gray alien bodies, but had no luck. The search was called off late Thursday, leaving behind conspiracy theories for the ages as well as hours of scintillating discussion on very late night radio talk shows.

For those desperately searching for a rational explanation for such high strangeness, New Hampshire's WTNH TV may offer a bit of succor, noting that that the National Weather Service reported a meteor shower late Wednesday. The Lyrid Meteor Shower is expected to peak around April 21-22, but may cause similar mischief from now until then.

So there is your likely logical scientific explanation. We leave it to Sufjan Stevens to take on the more ephemeral aspects of U.F.O. sightings in his jaunty hat, which seems appropriate.

Paxton and Healy.

The Yankee Pedlar Inn is a real hotel in Torrington, Conn., that is rumored to be haunted. The Innkeepers, a desultory indie-prod poorly written and lamely directed by Ti West, and filmed on the cheap at the actual location, is a poor-man’s rip-off of Stanley Kubrick’s hotel spookfest, The Shining, promising paranormal horrors to all who dare to enter. Where is Jack Nicholson when we need him?

The conceit of this time-wasting probe of a spiritual world that exists beyond occult gossip is that this is the last weekend before hard times and economic pressures force the Yankee Pedlar to close its doors forever. The only two staff members left, a nerdy desk clerk with red hair and spectacles named Luke (Pat Healy) and a pretty blond teenager named Claire (Sara Paxton), decide to spend the weekend on the premises and offer final amenities to the inn’s only two guests—a bitter wife and mother who has left her husband at home to teach him a lesson, and a faded has-been movie star (Kelly McGillis) with an odd interest in ghosts. Surfing the net, Claire looks up the ghost stories that have circled the inn’s reputation for decades and finds a creepy tale of one suicidal dame who hanged herself from the beams in Room 353 and whose body was hidden in the cellar. For nearly two hours the film drags its own carcass around aimlessly while Claire roams the halls playing ghost hunter with the aid of a ticking wand apparatus that makes noises like a Geiger counter and looks like a weed whacker. The piano plays by itself. An alarm clock goes off. She thinks it’s the spirit of the dead woman, who may have been a murder victim, not a suicide, trying to make contact. Luke tries to be logical, spouting the script’s goofiest lines: “You gotta pull it together! You’re way out in the weeds right now!” and “How many times have you seen someone on late-night TV hawking their psychic wares to an audience of rubes?” Answer: It seems they’re making low-budget movies now.

Eventually, a real weirdo checks in, demanding Room 353, and ends up in a bathtub filled with blood. But for nearly two hours, The Innkeepers hobbles on one foot with no tempo and only a minimum of tension. For the record, the real Yankee Pedlar Inn has no intention of closing. It’s a charming retreat that dates back to 1891, with elegant period furniture, burnished walnut floors and a tavern that serves delicious country cooking in front of a crackling fire. Room 353 is a popular request on the reservations list. The movie is a harmless entertainment that might satisfy people who like haunted houses as long as their demands for genuine hair-raising thrills are minimal. Above all, it offers a lovely tour of an authentic New England tourist attraction that never fails to please the eye. Still, I ask myself, how can any movie that calls itself a horror film also be boring at the same time? You will find the answer in The Innkeepers.

rreed@observer.com

THE INNKEEPERS

Running Time 100 minutes

Written and Directed by Ti West

Starring Sara Paxton, Pat Healy and Kelly McGillis

2/4

Since it passed in May, Mr. Malloy has enticed national names like CIGNA, a global health services company, and TicketNetwork, an online ticket marketplace, to relocate. He also convinced ESPN to build a 93,000-square-foot building on its Bristol campus and the NBC Sports Group to set its sights on developing new offices in Stamford.

In exchange for staking claim in Connecticut, companies like ESPN receive the state’s “best” incentive and tax credit programs, provided that its owners pledge to create 200 new jobs over two years—or, if more time is needed, invest $25 million and create 200 jobs over five years. For most, such an offer couldn’t be taken lightly—especially for NBC Sports.

“I don’t know of another state with this formula,” said John Goodkind, a managing principal at Newmark Knight Frank who represented Starwood Hotels & Resorts in a blockbuster deal that will relocate the hospitality group from Westchester to Stamford next year. “Connecticut is literally like a business partner, and they’re like the tenant’s partner.”

But whether it’s precedent-shattering incentives, like those offered in Connecticut and to a lesser extent in New Jersey, or straightforward transactions like those in Westchester County and on Long Island, deals are being inked in New York’s tristate region at a positive clip, analysts said. From the deal in October to bring NBC Sports Group to Connecticut to a string of high-profile hospital transactions in Westchester, businesses are migrating to the suburbs at a reasonable rate, brokers said.

And while Manhattan remains the most alluring destination for many tenants, the suburbs managed to compete valiantly this year in the face of a sluggish economy. Below, The Commercial Observer takes a look at the tristate area’s other major markets.

CONNECTICUT

In Connecticut, NBC Sports Group, which already broadcasts games for the National Football League and the National Hockey League, agreed to bring its sports group—including NBC Sports, NBC Olympics and Versus—to a 32-acre plot in Stamford.

There, NBC plans to build several state-of-the-art studios—including one for the NHL Network—while relocating 450 employees and creating hundreds of additional positions.

In exchange, the state will give NBC a $20 million loan through its Department of Economic and Community Development.

Such a Cinderella story is a break from recent memory in Connecticut, where officials received the scare of the century this summer when UBS, a formidable financial presence, briefly considered vacating its Stamford office, famed for its 93,000-square-foot trading floor.

Losing UBS, which had been operating in Stamford for 10 years, would have cost the state $70 million in annual tax revenue, Mr. Malloy said at an August press conference.

The company eventually agreed to stay in Stamford for five additional years in a deal that will retain 2,000 jobs and hundreds of thousands of square feet in Connecticut for the foreseeable future. In return, UBS will receive $20 million in state funds from Mr. Malloy, Stamford’s former mayor.

Mr. Malloy served as mayor of Stamford when Starwood Hotels & Resorts agreed to relocate its headquarters from White Plains to a 250,000-square-foot office at the Harbor Point development, an 80-acre, $3.5 billion mixed-use site in the city’s South End.

In exchange, Starwood received $75 million in tax credits and a $9.5 million loan from the state’s Department of Economics.

“We’ve said that Connecticut’s open for business,” said Mr. Malloy at a press conference announcing the TicketNetwork deal. “And what we’re saying to the entrepreneurial community, to the technology community, to anyone who can take that technology and entrepreneurial spirit [is] put them together, come up with a product, and bring it to market in our state. That’s what we want.”

And that’s what they’ve been getting. The county’s Class A vacancy rate dropped to 23 percent, its lowest since the first quarter of 2010. On average, asking rents clocked in at $32.10 per square foot through October.

Between its aggressive incentives policy and reasonable rents, Connecticut has surfaced as one of the region’s most appealing office sectors. As such, recruiting has been bold.

“They seem to be the most aggressive in going after tenants, especially tenants that are already in Manhattan, by giving them incentives,” said Mr. Sammons.

NORTHERN NEW JERSEY

In northern New Jersey—notably in Hudson, Morris, Essex, and Middlesex counties—a litany of financial firms have renewed leases even as new tenants have rushed forward.

Earlier this year, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and other public officials convinced Panasonic to relocate from Secaucus to a new office tower on Raymond Boulevard in Newark with the help of a $102 million transit hub tax credit.
In September, Deutsche Bank inked a seven-year renewal at its 204,515-square-foot office space at 2 Gatehall Drive in Parsippany, where it has been since 2002.

Merrill Lynch, meanwhile, re-upped its 300,000-square-foot lease at 95 Greene Street in Jersey City. And after threatening to leave New Jersey altogether—an always effective threat, as aforementioned deals have evidenced—British publishing firm Pearson Education is planning a move from Upper Saddle River to a yet-to-be-built waterfront development in Hoboken. Pearson received $82.5 million in tax credits from the state.

As Panasonic and Pearson have proved, companies are showing renewed interest in New Jersey’s modern, rail-ready office portfolio, especially where it concerns urban locales.

“If you’re an owner of real estate in New Jersey and you’re sitting on that type of product, you’re going to be quite happy with your results,” said Gregory Barkan, senior vice president at CBRE, who added that tenants are choosing cities over the suburbs. “But if you’re sitting on that antiquated, kind of commoditized vintage-type product that seems to be pretty prevalent in New Jersey I think you have some heavy lifting.”

The vacancy rate for Jersey City has been low, currently standing at 9 percent. The asking rent for the area is $27.39.
Jersey City—which boasts 16.6 million square feet of office space out of the 20.7 million for all of Hudson County—currently has 8.1 million square feet of proposed new space in the pipeline, said Mr. Sammons. This bodes well for future tenants, but not for those who need space post-haste.

“They have no product available in the near term for a major tenant,” said Mr. Sammons.  “They can build fast enough, faster than you can in Manhattan. But most of the development sites recently have been for residential and not for office.”

NASSAU AND SUFFOLK COUNTIES

Nassau and Suffolk counties, meanwhile, are waiting for the market to turn.

In Nassau, the county tallied a vacancy rate of 16.l percent, with an asking rent of $29.99. Deals like Astoria Federal Savings’ lease for 55,000 square feet of space at 1 Jericho Plaza in June have been decent-sized, but certainly nothing to write home about.

In Suffolk County, the vacancy rate clocked in at 18.5 percent, down from 20.8 percent in March. That drop has been an encouraging sign, but still a far cry from high 2007 levels.

“This is surely not part of the go-go years,” said Chuck Tabone, a managing principal at Newmark Knight Frank.
The most notable deal happened at 5000 Corporate Court, a 264,482-square-foot property in Holtsville in Suffolk County purchased by Government Properties Income Trust for $39.3 million in September. Located just off the Long Island Expressway, the asset is already home to the IRS and the Bureau of Customs and Immigration Services and boasts more than 37 acres.

Despite its accessibility, however, the building has failed to impress Big Apple tenants.
“[Nassau and Suffolk are] too far off the grid for tenants in Manhattan, unless they are a call center or something like that,” said Mr. Sammons.

WESTCHESTER COUNTY

Transportation is Westchester County’s Achilles’ heel. While the area has space for rent, the region remains a dead zone for commuters, with buses and trains relatively scarce.

The Westchester County vacancy rate ended up at 28.1 percent in October, up from 24.9 percent in September 2010. Meanwhile, asking rents continue to hover around $30, ending at $29.98 for the month of October.

The availability of 325,000 square feet of space—thanks, mostly, to the departure of Starwood Hotels & Resorts from two spaces on Westchester Avenue in White Plains—has caused the vacancy rate to soar above year-end 2010 levels, said Mr. Sammons.

Nokia’s announcement in April that it will shutter offices at 102 Corporate Park Drive in White Plains as part of its efforts to consolidate didn’t help matters either.

“It’s been a challenging office environment in terms of job growth and companies coming into Westchester, so one of the shining stars has been the growth of the medical practices and the adaptive re-use of former office space into medical space,” said Budd Wiesenberg, a vice president at CBRE.

Among the medical conglomerates now picking up the slack in Westchester is WestMed Medical, which has expanded across the county with a handful of high-profile deals.

In October, the group moved into a new 84,000-square-foot space in the Ridge Hill development in Yonkers, and during the same month it announced a new 28,000-square-foot space on Huguenot Street in New Rochelle. The selling point for the medical group was the Huguenot office’s relatively convenient location, located just blocks from parking spaces, a Metro-North train station and a Bee-Line bus stop.

Meanwhile, Memorial Sloan-Kettering received approvals to remodel 400 Westchester Avenue into a $143 million cancer treatment facility.

Other activity includes Acorda Therapeutics, a biotech company, leasing 138,000 square feet of space at 410 and 412 Saw Mill River Road in Ardsley. w Jersey, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, National Football League, UBS, Stamford, Connecticut, Hudson, Morris, Essex, Middlesex, Chris Christie, Panasonic, Pearson, Gregory Barkan, CBRE, Nassau, Suffolk, Acorda Therapeutics, 4

“I will say that health care has become a darling in Westchester,” said Frank Tomasulo, a senior vice president at CBRE who represented WestMed in both deals.
drosen@observer.com

Rich Hilfiger (Photo courtesy: Topshelf Junior)

This past Saturday, Rich Hilfiger stood across the street from FAO Schwarz smoking an American Spirit as he texted on a white iPhone. He wore camo pants, a Rolex, combat boots and a black tank top from a ZZ Top tour that took place in 1990 (the year he was born), which barely covered his knuckles-to-neck tattooing. On his head he wore a black cap that was given to him last week by a new friend, Abel Tesfaye, the singer who performs under the name the Weeknd.

“You know the model Stephanie Seymour?” he said pointing at the toy store. “One time her son had a sleepover and they rented out the entire place. I wasn’t invited because I’d transferred to another school or something.”

“Kids, you know,” he said, crossing over to the Plaza, where he lives with his fiancée in an apartment owned by his garb magnate father, Tommy. “Of course now that everything’s happening for me, they’re all coming out of the woodwork. It’s like, ‘Yo, I do music too.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah?’” He pulled his signature smile, a wide-eyed, nostrils-flared expression easily confused with a grimace.

Last month, Rich announced that he’d signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records. The story goes that Warner Bros., trying to woo the Weeknd—whose House of Balloons mixtape blew up in a big way this spring—asked him which artists he’d like to work with. He said Rich, they signed Rich, who performs under the name Rich Hil, and they flew him to Abel’s native Toronto the next day. For Rich, who goes to the studio every day and had previously been signed to Swizz Beatz’s now defunct Full Service Records, it was a dream come true. Now he’s preparing for his first big tour this fall and has started working with producer Lex Luger, who produced the song “H.A.M” on the recent Jay-Z/Kanye West album Watch the Throne.

Rich hasn’t made this kind of news since last year, when he was arrested in Los Angeles with a sizeable amount of marijuana in the trunk of his car. He’s still on probation, though he managed to avoid jail with court-ordered rehab.

“Did I get anything out of it?” he said over dinner in the basement of the Plaza (grilled chicken, chimichurri and an off-menu lemonade-mojito concoction). “Yeah, I learned that alcohol and coke? Is kind of for faggots. You know, like, in my eyes. I’ll drink alcohol to get a lean, don’t get me wrong, but, like, something about the people who are addicted to alcohol and cocaine, they seemed like fags to me,” he said. “Not ‘fags’ as in ‘gay.’ I have nothing against gay people. Mad people in my family are gay.”

The two-month stint in Utah inspired two mixtapes, Ricky Goes to Rehab and I Just Got Outta Rehab, as well as the refrain “I got a pound in the car,” which recurs frequently on his newer tracks. While in rehab, he read the poet Robert Burns, who he says is his father’s great-uncle. “He talks about the same shit that I talk about,” Rich said. “Girls, love, loss, being high, and that’s about it.”

Sonically, Rich’s songs are a mix of hip-hop crooning and Lil Wayne-inspired growl rapping. It’s a style he’s developed over 10 years, when his infatuation with the lifestyle began in Greenwich, Conn. Rich’s parents have always been supportive of his rap efforts. They allowed him to take formative weekend trips to Philadelphia at age 15 with the family bodyguard to visit friends he’d made in the hip-hop community.

And the haters? Gawker savaged him a few weeks ago, and Kanye West has been less than genial, but the record deal changes all that. “Fuck those people, you know?” he said, leaning into The Observer’s recorder. “Fuck y’all, like, suck my dick. Literally. They know who they are.” He says he makes music for three people—himself, his fiancée and his father, “a groupie,” to whom he sends a Zip file of 20 new songs every other week.

“As soon as he figures out how to open it, he’ll be back an hour later and tell me his favorite songs, why they’re his favorite songs, why he likes them, how they made him feel,” he said. “And then there are times when he’ll even have to pull me aside and be like, ‘Are you O.K.?’” Rich has the words “I love you, Dad,” tattooed on the underside of his neck (and a clown smoking a blunt on his shoulder). Reached for a quote, Tommy Hilfiger said via email, “I love and admire my son’s musical talent and am tremendously proud of his passion for his work.”

The Hilfiger suite in the Plaza features many photos of the Rolling Stones and an Andy Warhol rendering of Howdy Doody in the front hall. On a table below Doody are Rich’s contributions to the décor—several G.I. Joe dolls and a full-size Stormtrooper helmet from Star Wars. Two heavy turntable cases blocked the kitchen door, to keep out Rich’s Wheaten terrier.

One constant refrain in Rich’s music is the phrase “no limos,” contra tacky, showy wealth. Waiting on Rich’s couch before we headed to the studio, we asked why he frequently reps “the Cut” or “CT” in his songs, when it’s generally considered to be a world capital for that sort of thing.

“I rep CT because CT made me,” he said, a Macbook balanced on his stomach. “I’m a product of CT but I’m not—I don’t know. What would a prep school kid wear?” He Googled “prep school kid” and found a picture of a guy in a pink sport coat. “That’s not me. You know what I mean? I might have gone to school with that kid. That kid might have played video games in my house. Played out in the woods with me, but I didn’t turn into that. I’m so fucking CT but I’m not that at all … Not everybody from Texas got a fucking cowboy hat, you know?” he said. “I’m going to tweet that.” And he did.

He texted with the Weeknd, and we asked if he had a quote for The Observer. “Fuck them, bro,” he told Rich.

Krystal Martos, Rich’s 27-year-old fiancée and the D.J. whose turntables served as doggie gate, emerged from the bedroom where she’d been recovering from jet lag. Dark-skinned and lithe, she complained of a perpetual headache and Rich offered to get her some Oxycontin—he has a prescription. She thanked him but said no.

“I’ve already reached all my old goals,” he said shortly after she left the room. “I was like, ‘Yo, I want to be the best rapper that was born in Connecticut ever.’ I’m that! No less than that, you can’t even front.”

He gestured to the bedroom. “I used to look at her in ads when she was modeling for ads, like Akademiks in XXL. She used to be in those ads! Those ads I used to jerk off to as a kid! That’s my wife! It’s crazy, you know? I’ll find you one that I found recently of her. It was in Complex.” He called it up on his iPhone.

In the cab, Rich explained that we were headed to Premier Studios in midtown, the only studio in New York that hasn’t banned him, he said. At Downtown Studios, for example, he was blacklisted for breaking into their offices with his creative partner, Uncle Panther, and generally running amok. He peed in workers’ coffee cups, pushed over bookshelves, “drew dicks everywhere” and drizzled honey on keyboards, all of it captured on security tape that he wants to obtain for a music video.

“Yo, kid!” he yelled into the recording studio in an Indian accent. “It’s your nephew!”

“I like my nephew!” trilled Uncle Panther, a long-aired Indian man who was waiting in the mixing room. A staffer plunked down four or five glass ashtrays, all inscribed with the “I Love NY” logo, in strategic positions.

Rich set his laptop on the mixing board and played new songs at levels that prompted an off-guard producer to cover his ears. Then it was time for some mischief.

Uncle Panther is mix of a muse and a manager for Rich (though, only spiritually on that last role, Rich's proper manager is named Sickamore). Rich and Panther met through Swizz Beatz and he claims credit for suggesting that Rich start singing—advice he also gave to Chet Haze, Tom Hanks’s son, for whom he’s written eight songs. He’s also there for studio morale. Not 10 minutes after a fruit platter arrived, Rich and Panther took to an outdoor balcony to wing it at pedestrians walking in the drizzly night below. They didn’t hit anyone, but one woman may have noticed an orange.

“Isn’t this fun?” Panther said as they were filling up cups of water to dump on passersby. “I’m telling you, 2012 is the year of Rich. He’s going to be a fucking rock star.” Rich looked bashful as he pinched his four cups between his fingers.

A producer, Avery Chambliss—who has worked with Cassidy, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and other prominent artists—stopped by to show off a new beat he’d written for Rich that sounded like the theme from the Halloween movies. When Rich was in the bathroom, we asked Avery what makes a Rich Hil beat.

“Dark,” Avery said. “Rich likes everything dark.”

“It’s like if you have a girlfriend,” said Uncle Panther. “And she gets raped and then she tells you about it? That kind of shit.”

Rich is prolific, recording an average of five songs a night (“I just do some shit to get some shit off my chest,” he said. “I might never put the song out”). Late into the night, he rose in the middle of a beat and entered the recording booth as everyone else busied himself for the event, turning off the lights and moving ashtrays so that Rich could smoke behind the microphone.

He abandoned prewritten lyrics long ago and is often surprised by what comes out. “It’s like, what I just said in there,” he said when he emerged 30 minutes later. “‘Rarer than a bad bitch named Eleanor.’ I’ll have to think like, ‘Is that rare? Oh, yeah, I guess it is.’”

That night he had only one song in him, and the rest of the evening was dedicated to listening to his music—new songs, and YouTube—and general shit-shooting. Later in the night everyone ordered Indian food and after the five chicken tikka masalas arrived, Rich began to rail against the clothing label Supreme, which he used to wear regularly, until they started “fucking with Odd Future,” a West Coast rap group

Now he wants to kidnap Odd Future frontman Tyler the Creator and make a music video where an attractive woman takes a duffel bag of Supreme out to the middle of the desert and burns it. He didn’t say for which song.

dduray@observer.com

Clarification added 8/10 Though he sometimes plays the part in the studio, Uncle Panther is not Rich's manager. Rich is managed by Sickamore, with whom we scheduled this interview.

It's not all bad news, as Black bought the place for $1.3 million in 1998 while it recently sold for $1.98 million, though that is still well below the $2.35
million ask. The Times notes that the house was only on the market for two months before going into contract, so read into that what you will.

The Observer can't help but wonder if the news of this sale somehow played into last night's decision by a panel of experts that Black should not become chancellor. After all, the mayor has been touting her business acumen as a necessity for righting the city's cantankerous school system. If she can't even get the price she wants for her home, how is she supposed to strike a favorable deal with the teachers unions?

Don't feel too bad for Black, though. Even if she doesn't get the job, she still has a Park Avenue penthouse and a Hamptons estate to go home to.

mchaban@observer.com

By the end of the article you get the impression that she's some sleazy promoter out of The Wrestler rather than a Greenwich Republican. Among the accusations leveled against the McMahons' $1.2 billion empire are: depriving wrestlers of benefits, lowballing their salaries, turning a blind eye to steroids, overworking them and potentially driving them to suicide

The article is peppered with Mickey Rourke-esque quotes from former wrestlers.

Booker T. Huffman, a W.W.E. veteran, said he left the W.W.E. a few years ago because of the relentless pace.

"I didn't want to be one of those guys who gets chewed up and spit out," Mr. Huffman, 45, said in an interview. "Every other sport has off seasons. But with the W.W.E., it's brutal. It's taxing, mentally and physically."

The article marks the second time the paper has gone after a candidate for Chris Dodd's Senate seat. Their previous coverage included an examination of Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's alleged exaggerations of his Vietnam service.