[5] The National Hurricane Center (NHC) expected that Sandy would become extratropical at some point before hitting the New Jersey coast, but there was uncertainty in the timing.

In Suffolk County, officials ordered mandatory evacuations for residents of Fire Island and in surge zone areas in Babylon, Brookhaven, Islip, Riverhead, Southampton and Southold.

[13] Starbucks closed all of its outlets in the city and Long Island on October 28 at 4 p.m. to let employees get home before the transit system shut down.

[18] On October 28, officials activated the city's coastal emergency plan, with subway closings and the evacuation of residents in areas hit during Hurricane Irene in August 2011.

[3] Kings Point at the western end of the Long Island Sound recorded a storm surge of 12.65 ft (3.86 m) above normal tide levels.

Mayor Bloomberg announced earlier in the day that the storm caused $19 billion in losses in New York City, which was included in the estimate Cuomo gave.

[36] By the afternoon of the same day, Con Ed said it expected to "restore the vast majority of customers who lost power by the weekend of November 10 and 11.

As of 5:00 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT) on that date Con Edison said about 226,000 customers lacked service in Manhattan, 84,000 in Queens, 35,000 in Brooklyn, 54,000 in Staten Island 31,000 in the Bronx and 140,000 in Westchester.

[46] On November 2, Governor Cuomo signed an executive order waiving the state's requirements that fuel tankers register and pay a tax before unloading.

As of early morning October 31, nearly 3,000 flights were canceled,[65] but JFK and Newark airports began handling flights after 7 a.m.[53] LaGuardia Airport reopened November 1 at 7:00 a.m.[53] New York's Village Halloween Parade, held annually on October 31, was canceled due to blackout conditions in Greenwich Village.

[66] After many complaints that running the New York City Marathon through affected areas would seem insensitive and would put further pressure on police and other service workers who would be better deployed in the recovery efforts, Mayor Bloomberg announced late afternoon November 2 that the race had been canceled.

The highest-observed water line in the state was 7.9 ft (2.4 m) above ground, measured on a doorframe of a house in Staten Island's Oakwood neighborhood.

[70] Parts of Lower Manhattan were inundated by floodwaters, possibly as much as 8 ft (2.4 m) deep, based on water marks measured near the South Street Seaport.

[5] On October 30, over 190 firefighters fought a six alarm fire that destroyed 111 structures and damaged another 20 in Breezy Point, Queens, as a result of the storm.

[85] Sandy's large circulation and storm surge inundated parts of the Hudson River valley more than 100 mi (160 km) upstream, in conjunction with light rainfall across the state.

[88] The cost of damage to the city hospital system, including emergency measures, evacuations, and staff overtime, was estimated around $1 billion.

After the first floor was submerged and communications were cut, Coney Island Hospital staff cared for more than 220 patients using flashlights and battery-powered devices, until it was safe enough to evacuate.

[3] New York University Langone Medical Center was evacuated October 29 after the backup generators at the hospital failed due to flooding.

On October 29, National Guard troops arrived in Island Park, New York, as anecdotal accounts and earlier reports of a substation explosion were officially denied by a LIPA representative.

[92] On October 30, a helicopter rescue crew airlifted five adults and a child from the roof of a Staten Island house which was nearly submerged by flooding waters.

[46] During a news conference on November 1, Mayor Bloomberg announced that most parks would reopen on November 3; that Coney Island, the Rockaways, and parts of Staten Island would get temporary centers for the distribution of meals and bottles of water at a time; that AT&T would bring cellphone-charging and cell service-enabled pods to certain areas of New York City; and that 400 members of the National Guard were to go door-to-door to deliver meals and supplies to elderly and home-bound residents.

[103] NYU Langone Medical Center, evacuated during the storm, began reopening on the same day,[104] and about 750 workers resumed construction on Ground Zero.

[1] New York City and the counties of Nassau and Suffolk imposed "odd-even" gasoline rationing, as New Jersey had, to ease congestion and frustration at filling stations.

[125] On November 2, it was reported that "on Long Island, looting has become such a problem on the south shore in the wake of superstorm Sandy that state police are on patrol.

"[126] In addition to the looting of homes and stores, armed robberies, criminal siphoning of gasoline out of vehicle gas tanks, and thefts of generators were reported.

It was further reported that gasoline, in heavy demand for both vehicles and home generators, had become scarce and frustration with fuel supplies topped "the list of issues causing tensions to boil over in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, the states hardest hit by power outages in the wake of superstorm Sandy.

[133] In the five days since Sandy first hit New York City, the NYPD reported a slight decline in the number of major felonies compared to the same period during the previous year.

The Cuomo administration used $140 million of the funds originally allocated to this commission in order to pay for the broadcast of national TV ads encouraging businesses to return to New York after the disaster.

[136][137] Many have been critical of the effort, including former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, who called the ads "fluff" and "a waste of taxpayer money".

[138][139][140] Several years later, during Christie's own campaign for president, Republican opponents continued to raise the issue of his post-Sandy relationship with Obama.