Tenant's rights- Property damage

Hello, I'm in Buffalo NY, and have been w/o power for a week now. My wife, son and I have a "Gardenview" (basement) apt, which has flooded due to the power outage. On day 1 of the event, the apt started to take in water - puddling in about 1/4 to 1/2 of each room. My landlord brought a generator over for the sump pump, and the water subsided. My wife and I got a wet/dry vac and dried everything we could, and moved as much as we could off of the floor. That night, he took the generator with him to another property, and to his home (all were w/o power) The next morning, an inch of water had covered the entire floor, damaging a number of our desks, bookcases and an entertainment center, along with other personal belongings. Also ruined were two large area rugs; one was ours, and one was the LL's. Today, I asked if he could help us out, since we had to replace some furniture and our one rug. He said that the damage to our things was my responsibility, but he would take care of next months rent for us. I asked about the carpet for the living room (his) and he said that we could replace it on our dime, but he wasn't going to replace it. I told him that I thought he would be responsible, since he took the generator away after the first round of flooding, and the damage happened as a result of the heavier flooding that night. He said that maybe he shouldn't have brought the generator at all, and kind of laughed it off. Also, we have been here for 8 yrs, and haven't signed a lease in about 3. So: Is the damage from the water backing up his responsibility or mine?

He needs to pay for that all normally; you may sue in small claims if you have to. Let him know that.