Michael Bloomberg not budging

[VCURamFan]

From ESPN.com:

NEW YORK -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg came under fire Friday for pressing ahead with this weekend's New York Marathon in a city still reeling from Superstorm Sandy, with some New Yorkers saying that holding the race would be insensitive and tie up police, generators and other resources when many are still suffering.

Joan Wacks, whose Staten Island waterfront condo was swamped with 4 feet of water, predicted authorities will still be recovering bodies when the estimated 40,000 runners from around the world hit the streets for the 26.2-mile race Sunday, and she called the mayor "tone deaf."

"He is clueless without a paddle to the reality of what everyone else is dealing with," she said. "If there are any resources being put toward the marathon, that's wrong. I'm sorry, that's wrong."

At a news conference, Bloomberg defended his decision as a way to raise money for the stricken city and boost morale six days after Sandy flooded neighborhoods, knocked out power to hundreds of thousands homes and businesses and killed at least 39 people.

Bloomberg said New York "has to show that we are here and we are going to recover" and "give people something to cheer about in what's been a very dismal week for a lot of people."

"You have to keep going and doing things," he said, "and you can grieve, you can cry and you can laugh all at the same time. That's what human beings are good at."

Noting that street lights should be back on in Manhattan by midnight Friday and parts of the transit system are up and running again, he gave assurances that the race would not take away police officers and other resources needed in the recovery.

He also pointed out that his predecessor, Rudolph Giuliani, went ahead with the New York Marathon two months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and "it pulled people together."

One of the world's pre-eminent road races, the New York Marathon generates an estimated $340 million into the city. This time, the marathon's sponsors and organizers have dubbed it the "Race to Recover" and intend to use the event to raise money for the city to deal with the crisis. New York Road Runners, the race organizer, will donate $1 million and said sponsors have pledged more than $1.5 million.

"It's hard in these moments to know what's best to do," NYRR president Mary Wittenberg said. "The city believes this is best to do right now."

The course runs from the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge on hard-hit Staten Island to Central Park, sending runners through all five boroughs. The course will not be changed, since there was little damage along the route.

Police Commission Raymond Kelly said police officers will not be taken off storm-recovery duty to work the marathon. He said the estimated 2,000 officers on the marathon route come in on their days off, on overtime, while those on storm duty work extended shifts on their regular work days.

"People who are engaged in recovery work and security work, those numbers will remain essentially the same," he said.

Michael Sofronas of Manhattan used to run the marathon and has been a race volunteer for four years, serving as an interpreter for foreign runners. But he said he won't volunteer this year.

"I'm also really very aghast at the fact that we've just gone through the Sandy hurricane and I believe that the people should not be diverted to the marathon. They should focus on the people in need," he said. "It's all about money, money from everybody. The sponsors, the runners."

A Swede who arrived in New York this week to run in the marathon sided with the mayor.

"It doesn't feel good, coming to New York," said Maria Eriksson, 27. "But the marathon has been planned for such a long time. And besides, it brings so much money to the city. That should help. What help would it be to cancel?"

Other runners were torn.

Olivia Waldman, who lives on the Upper East Side, said: "I want to be a part of this marathon and I also want to be a part of the hurricane relief. I'm trying to help where I can, and the marathon is going on, so we have to help in making that go forward."

But John Esposito, a Staten Islander helping his elderly parents clean out their flooded home, said: "They brought giant generators to power the marathon tents while we've got thousands of people without power. ... How about putting one of these generators here? Have some compassion."

Adam Shanker of Short Hills, N.J., said he moved his family from his dark and cold house to a Manhattan hotel, only to learn they were being kicked out Friday to make room for someone with reservations for the marathon.

"I hate Mayor Bloomberg," he said. "It is absolutely retarded to have a marathon starting, especially in Staten Island, where people just lost everything in the world. And they're going to have these people run through our streets like celebrating some kind of run, which I think is great, but not now. ... And now people who can't even get rooms are getting kicked out of the only rooms they have because these people have rooms. And, you know, what is he thinking?"

[Bonnie]

I think all the bad press finally budged the politician in him!

[NateR]

It's good to hear that they went ahead and cancelled it. It was idiotic of them to think that they could keep the race going with so many people in the area still without power.

[rearnakedchoke]

good that it was cancelled .. was also good to hear chris christie give credit to obama on the good job he did ... even though he got some backlash for it ...

[NateR]

Originally Posted by rearnakedchoke

good that it was cancelled .. was also good to hear chris christie give credit to obama on the good job he did ... even though he got some backlash for it ...

A good job on what exactly? Going back on the campaign trail while people were still without electricity and there are reports of dead bodies still in the water?

[rearnakedchoke]

his reponse effort to the storm ... thats what he did a good job on ... it will take a while for electricty to go on in some places and bodies etc to get cleaned up ... but his response so far has been good ...

[Bonnie]

Originally Posted by NateR

A good job on what exactly? Going back on the campaign trail while people were still without electricity and there are reports of dead bodies still in the water?

Originally Posted by rearnakedchoke

his reponse effort to the storm ... thats what he did a good job on ... it will take a while for electricty to go on in some places and bodies etc to get cleaned up ... but his response so far has been good ...

I'm fine with Gov. Christie expressing a "thanks" to President Obama, but to gush about the President doing a "great job" is, I think, overstating it and a bit over the top. The President/federal gov't has control over funds that Gov. Christie needs for his state and it's recovery so I don't blame him for jumping on the President's offer for him to come tour the disaster areas, but make no mistake, this tour with Christie was a photo op for the President during these close elections to make himself look Presidential and like he cares. Christie's praise of the President was quickly used by Team Obama which includes the main stream media who made sure to play it up for all it was worth.

Everything the President has been saying after this storm, "We are going to make sure everyone is taken care of....no one will be left behind...we take care of each other"...oh, the irony of those words given what took place in Benghazi less than two months ago, and what the President didn't do to try to save the American lives there.

The President is quick to release pictures of himself in the Situation Room of the White House playing Commander-in-Chief for Bin Laden and Hurricane Sandy, but funnily enough, no pics of him have been released for the night of Sept. 11 during Benghazi.

If I thought he went to New Jersey, and wanted to go to New York, for the right reasons, I would give him a nod for doing what any President should have done, but I don't think doing what was right was his motivation.

As for Mayor Bloomberg....totally useless!

[rockdawg21]

Without electricity, the contestants wouldn't have been able to keep their steroids refrigerated anyways.

[NateR]

Originally Posted by Bonnie

I'm fine with Gov. Christie expressing a "thanks" to President Obama, but to gush about the President doing a "great job" is, I think, overstating it and a bit over the top. The President/federal gov't has control over funds that Gov. Christie needs for his state and it's recovery so I don't blame him for jumping on the President's offer for him to come tour the disaster areas, but make no mistake, this tour with Christie was a photo op for the President during these close elections to make himself look Presidential and like he cares. Christie's praise of the President was quickly used by Team Obama which includes the main stream media who made sure to play it up for all it was worth.

Everything the President has been saying after this storm, "We are going to make sure everyone is taken care of....no one will be left behind...we take care of each other"...oh, the irony of those words given what took place in Benghazi less than two months ago, and what the President didn't do to try to save the American lives there.

The President is quick to release pictures of himself in the Situation Room of the White House playing Commander-in-Chief for Bin Laden and Hurricane Sandy, but funnily enough, no pics of him have been released for the night of Sept. 11 during Benghazi.

If I thought he went to New Jersey, and wanted to go to New York, for the right reasons, I would give him a nod for doing what any President should have done, but I don't think doing what was right was his motivation.

As for Mayor Bloomberg....totally useless!

I was just surprised that Obama never once tried to blame Hurricane Sandy on the "previous administration" since that seems to be his favorite tactic these days.