In a letter to readers published on the front page of the September 4, 2008, edition, Lipsky announced that the paper had suffered substantial losses and would "cease publication at the end of September unless we succeed in our efforts to find additional financial backing." In particular, the paper's existing backers would not put forward more money unless new backers with capital were found. The chance that funding had of materializing was negated by the onset of the financial crisis of 2007–2008, and "The Sun" ceased publication on September 30, 2008. It had approximately 110 employees at that time, and also made use of many freelance writers. Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg commented that "The Sun shone brightly, though too briefly," and that its writers were "smart, thoughtful, provocative".