There is a storm surge to consider. According to NOAA/NHC,
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/grap...large#contents, a storm surge of 3' or so is expected as far up the Hudson River as Albany. This is the graphics page from 1500z today. If you click on the "cone/interactive" you can get a detailed look at the areas right in harms way. Not so sure if it will get that bad, but there will be a considerable "push" of storm driven water into NYC waters. The Hudson's southern flow will be interrupted by the storm surge. It will be a backed up toilet, in a way
.
Political impact? Well, a day of the GOP convention was lost to a similar event. Will Sandy have an impact? Yup, it will.
RF 1