Parking Attendant Drowns At Meryl Streep's Tribeca Apartment Building During Sandy: Report

In the aftermath of superstorm Sandy, the U.S. death toll has climbed to at least 39, according to the Associated Press.

One victim in New York was a parking garage worker at 92 Laight St. in Tribeca. The middle-aged man drowned after he became trapped in the building's basement by flash flooding, the New York Daily News reports.

Police have not yet released his name, but according to one witness, the man was stuck along with another attendant who managed to escape the rapidly rising waters.

"The water was raging like a river. We told them to get out. I couldn't understand why they were still messing around down there,” Kevin Gouche, told the paper.

The building, along with 424 Washington, make up The River Lofts -- a luxury development that is home to several celebrities including Meryl Streep and Gwyneth Paltrow. The development is located along the Hudson River in Zone A, where residents were told to evacuate prior to the storm.

During a press conference on Tuesday morning, Mayor Michael Bloomberg reported at least 10 deaths in the New York City area -- a number he said was likely to climb as officials assessed damage throughout the boroughs. By Tuesday evening, the death toll had increased to 18.

The superstorm left millions of residents along the East Coast without power; 750,000 of those were in Manhattan. Consolidated Edison (ConEd) told New York City residents that power could take about four days to restore, the Associated Press reports.