Saturday, November 3, 2012

'I will scream': Backlash erupts as NYC preps for marathon

Richard Drew / AP

Workers assemble the finish line for the New York City Marathon in New York's Central Park, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. The crane atop a high rise that collapsed during Superstorm Sandy is visible at background left.

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By NBC News staff and wires

NEW YORK ??Mayor Michael Bloomberg's decision to allow the world's largest marathon to proceed on Sunday is drawing a severe backlash in some quarters of the city.

"If they take one first responder from Staten Island to cover this marathon, I will scream," New York City Councilman James Oddo, who represents parts of Staten Island and Brooklyn, said on his Twitter account. "We have people with no homes and no hope right now."

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 swelled to 95. At least 37 of those deaths were in New York City.

?The prudent course of action here???postpone the marathon, come back a different day,? Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer?told TODAY?s Savannah Guthrie. ?Our first priority, let?s help people who lost their homes, who are missing loved ones."

Stringer said downtown Manhattan, the city?s financial hub, ?looks like a wasteland? and is no where close to being ready for the race, which goes through each of New York?s five boroughs.

Still, the city is planning to go ahead with the race, which kicks off on Staten Island, the hardest-hit borough, on Sunday. The island, home to 500,000, suffered some of the worst destruction. At least 19 people who died in New York City lived on Staten Island.?

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer tells TODAY's Savannah Guthrie he believes Mayor Bloomberg should postpone the New York City marathon as congressman Michael Grimm from Staten Island says he's "angry" over plans to continue with the race

Vote: Do you think the New York City Marathon should be cancelled?

On Thursday, the bodies of two children, who had been missing on Staten Island since the storm were found. The boys, ages 2 and 4, were swept away from their mother?s arms Monday night after the car they were driving was swamped by floodwaters.

Island of tears: Sandy devastates Staten Island families

Bloomberg has vowed the marathon will not divert any resources from victims, and expects power to be restored to downtown Manhattan by race day. In defending his decision to go forward, the mayor cited the thousands of out-of-town visitors who come for the marathon.

"There's an awful lot of small businesses that depend on these people. We have to have an economy," Bloomberg told a news conference on Wednesday.

"It's a great event for New York, and I think for those who were lost, you know, you've got to believe they would want us to have an economy and have a city go on for those that they left behind."?

Paul McCarthy, 43, who lives on the Upper West Side, was walking his dog down Central Park West on Friday as marathon workers and runners whizzed by him.

?I woke up this morning and a lot of people on my Facebook page were saying they should shut it down, but my neighbor just reminded me that a third of the runners come from overseas. So logistically,?they wouldn?t be able to reschedule it, I don?t think,? he said. ?Maybe it would be a good thing for the city just to get something positive going.?

His overall assessment of holding the marathon on Sunday: ?Slightly net positive.?

Alberto Eguiguren, 48, a runner from Chile, arrived Thursday night with his two brothers, also marathon runners.

"It shows how the American people are always fighting to have a better country. Even though there was a disaster over the weekend, the people are ready -- not only for the local people but the international, too. We?re here because we really like the States, we really like New York. We really feel it?s one of the best places to run a marathon.... There are a lot of people with damages, but the stores are open, the streets are working- it?s amazing.?

Peter Garvey, 45, a doorman on Central Park West, had mixed emotions.

?It's a Catch-22,? he said. ?The city needs it because it brings in a lot of money. At this point you're going to need it to help with all the repairs." But he wondered whether the free dinner for runners could be used for hurricane survivors instead. "The one part you really question is that they?ll have the pasta dinner. [Runners] can go to restaurants. Maybe you can use this for people who don't have their homes anymore. Instead of the runners running here, you guys can come up here and have a meal today."?

David Friedman / NBC News

Superstorm Sandy made landfall Monday evening on a destructive and deadly path across the Northeast.

But others are less approving of Bloomberg?s decision.

A Facebook page called ?Cancel the 2012 NYC Marathon? had more than 27,000 likes and growing on Friday morning. Claiming to be?started by a New York City resident, the page says, ?The last thing NYC needs at this time is an extra 100,000 people or so flooding our already devastated streets. Things are not back to normal. Our city is working hard enough to recover please do not complicate things with a race.?

One commenter suggested Bloomberg should ?postpone [the race] for a month or so and then use the race as a perfect platform to showcase how ALL 5 BOROUGHS have recovered. That shows resilience, and RESPECT for the citizens who have suffered, without foregoing the economic benefits of the race.?

Another commenter asked, "Who would ever want to go to a war zone to run a marathon?"

The New York Road Runners, which organizes the marathon, said the event will bring $340 million to the city. The club also announced on Thursday that it will donate at least $1 million, or $26.20 for each of the more than 40,000 runners expected to participate, to aid New Yorkers affected by Sandy.?

The Rudin Family, one of the founding members of the marathon, said it would donate $1.1 million and the ING Foundation said it would give $500,000.?

"We're not looking to be a drain on any of the city resources," NYRR spokesman Richard Finn told Reuters. NYRR had hiked the race fee this year, in part to pay police overtime.

On Thursday, there were signs of recovery in city life: some subway service was restored, and Bloomberg said city parks would re-open on Saturday.?

Nineteen bodies have been found in Staten Island following Hurricane Sandy and many fear the number will rise. A growing number of Staten Islanders are outraged by what they describe as the slow response from relief organizations. NBC News' Ann Curry reports.

But much of the region was still a disaster zone. The southern third of Manhattan was largely without electricity, and many towns in New Jersey remained crippled from record flooding. Many trees in Central Park, where the race ends, were uprooted by near hurricane-force winds.?

The Marathon will shut down 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 NYRR club announced on its Facebook page last night that this year's marathon is dedicated to the City of New York, the victims of the hurricane and their families.?

One commenter, Scott Cohen, 52, who is running his 18th New York City Marathon in a row, admitted it "seems frivolous in light of the death, disruption and despair in parts of the city."?

Still, the fitness trainer expects that by Sunday most New Yorkers will be supportive. "The race has always been a 26.2 mile block party and the city feels the love."?

NBC News' Elizabeth Chuck and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/02/14880084-backlash-erupts-as-new-york-city-prepares-for-marathon?lite

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