Ownership Submission
FORM 4
Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN 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
OMB APPROVAL
OMB Number: 3235-0287
Expires: January 31, 2005
Estimated average burden hours per response... 0.5

(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC
  2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
GRIFFON CORP [GFF]
5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director __X__ 10% Owner
_____ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
200 WEST STREET
3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
01/31/2012
(Street)

NEW YORK, NY 10282
4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
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 Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 3)
2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 3. Transaction Code
(Instr. 8)
4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D)
(Instr. 3, 4 and 5)
5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s)
(Instr. 3 and 4)
6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 4)
7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 4)
Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price
Common Stock 01/31/2012   A   5,000 (2) A $ 0 10,013,754 I See footnotes (1) (3) (4)

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB control number. SEC 1474 (9-02)

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 3)
2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 4. Transaction Code
(Instr. 8)
5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D)
(Instr. 3, 4, and 5)
6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)
7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities
(Instr. 3 and 4)
8. Price of Derivative Security
(Instr. 5)
9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s)
(Instr. 4)
10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 4)
11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 4)
Code V (A) (D) 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
200 WEST STREET
NEW YORK, NY 10282
    X    
GOLDMAN SACHS & CO
200 WEST STREET
NEW YORK, NY 10282
    X    
GS Direct, L.L.C.
200 WEST STREET
NEW YORK, NY 10282
    X    

Signatures

 /s/ Yvette Kosic, Attorney-in-fact   02/02/2012
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

 /s/ Yvette Kosic, Attorney-in-fact   02/02/2012
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

 /s/ Yvette Kosic, Attorney-in-fact   02/02/2012
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(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) On January 31, 2012, in the aggregate, 5,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.25 per share (the "Common Stock") of Griffon Corporation (the "Company") were granted as 2,500 shares of Common Stock to each of Gerald J. Cardinale and Bradley J. Gross, each a managing director of Goldman Sachs, in their capacity as directors of the Company pursuant to the Company's 2011 Equity Incentive Plan (the "Plan"). Each grant of 2,500 shares vests one third on each of the next three anniversaries of the grant date, which was January 31, 2012.
(3) GS Group may be deemed to beneficially own, in the aggregate, 13,754 shares of Common Stock, consisting of 5,000 shares of common stock granted to each of Gerald J. Cardinale and Bradley J. Gross (each a "Director") pursuant to the Plan and 1,877 shares of Common Stock granted to each Director pursuant to the Outside Director Stock Award Plan. Messrs. Cardinale and Gross each has an understanding with GS Group pursuant to which he holds such securities for the benefit of GS Group. Each of Goldman Sachs and GS Group disclaims beneficial ownership of the securities reported herein except to the extent of its pecuniary interest therein.
(4) GS Group and Goldman Sachs may be deemed to beneficially own indirectly, in the aggregate, 10,000,000 shares of the Company's Common Stock, 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, if any. Goldman Sachs has net open short positions of 310,572 shares of Common Stock. The decrease in Goldman Sachs' net open short position is the result of a change of its information barriers as a result of an internal reorganization.

Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.

Potential persons who are to respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB number.