Mayor Bloomberg, what on earth are you thinking?
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/bloomberg-marathon-new-yorkers/2012/11/02/id/462491
As emergency workers wade through flooded homes to look for survivors
and millions of people remain without power in the U.S. Northeast, the
death toll from superstorm Sandy has swelled to 95.
"If they take one first responder from Staten Island to cover this
marathon, I will scream," New York City Councilman James Oddo said on
his Twitter account. "We have people with no homes and no hope right
now."
A majority of respondents to a Staten Island Advance poll said running
the marathon was “a disgrace, and an insult to every New Yorker who has
suffered in any way.”
“My God!” exclaimed Staten Island Borough President Jim Molinaro in a
press conference on Wednesday. “What we have here is terrible, a
disaster. If they want to race, let them race with themselves. This is
no time for a parade. A marathon is a parade.”
The Marathon will shut more than 20 miles of city roads and typically requires more than 1,000 police to man the route.
"Things are everything but normal for so many people," said Patricia
Profita, a teacher who lives in the Great Kills neighborhood of Staten
Island. "People should not be running through the boroughs, but instead
running to aid those people."
The storm has killed at least 39 people in New York City, almost half of whom were in Staten Island.
Holding the marathon would have sent a powerful message that New York is a survivor with the strength of overcome even this, the most powerful storm in current memory. Unfortunately it has been cancelled.
ReplyDeleteMick,
DeleteHave you had a chance to view any videos of the conditions on Staten Island?
Jean
Yes Jean, I understand why it was cancelled.
DeleteThe mayor seems to have a propensity for making misplaced judgement decisions. That the NYC area will survive is a given but until that time comes, to divert important assets and resources better allocated to protection and rescue/recovery in those devastated areas any joy de jour is inappropriate.
ReplyDeleteIn the interests of being GREEN, like the current White House, Mayor Bloomberg needs to be recycled.