Ownership Submission
FORM 3
 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
  GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC
 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
09/29/2008		 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
GRIFFON CORP [GFF]
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
85 BROAD ST		 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director __X__ 10% Owner
_____ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
(Street)

NEW YORK, NY 10004		 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
___ Form filed by One Reporting Person
_X_ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)		 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Common Stock 10,000,000
I
See footnotes (1) (2)

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)		 3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
Director 10% Owner Officer Other
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC
85 BROAD ST
NEW YORK, NY 10004		     X    
GOLDMAN SACHS & CO
85 BROAD STREET
NEW YORK, NY 10004		     X    
GS Direct, L.L.C.
85 BROAD STREET
NEW YORK, NY 10004		     X    

Signatures

/s/ Yvette Kosic, Attorney-in-fact 10/09/2008
**Signature of Reporting Person Date
/s/ Yvette Kosic, Attorney-in-fact 10/09/2008
**Signature of Reporting Person Date
/s/ Yvette Kosic, Attorney-in-fact 10/09/2008
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) This statement is being filed by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ("GS Group"), Goldman, Sachs & Co. ("Goldman Sachs") and GS Direct, L.L.C. ("GS Direct", and together with GS Group and Goldman Sachs, the "Reporting Persons").
(2) GS Group and Goldman Sachs may be deemed to beneficially own indirectly, in the aggregate, 10,000,000 shares of of common stock, par value $0.25 per share (the "Common Stock"), of Griffon Corporation, beneficially owned directly by GS Direct. Goldman Sachs and GS Direct are wholly-owned subsidiaries of GS Group. Goldman Sachs is the manager of GS Direct. The Reporting Persons each disclaim beneficial ownership of the securities reported herein except to the extent of their pecuniary interest therein. Goldman Sachs has net open short positions of 312,989 shares of Common Stock.

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