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Subscribe to RSSThe 26.2-mile race that would have wound its way through each borough in the city on Sunday has been canceled, Mayor Bloomberg said, because it has become "the source of controversy and division." NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.
NEW YORK – The New York Marathon will not be held Sunday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday, backtracking just a few hours after he defended the decision to hold it despite heavy criticism as the city struggles back from Superstorm Sandy.
"While holding the race would not require diverting resources from the recovery effort, it is clear that it has become the source of controversy and division," he said in a statement Friday evening shortly after NBC 4 New York and a few other media outlets reported the cancellation.
"We would not want a cloud to hang over the race or its participants, and so we have decided to cancel it," Bloomberg added. "We cannot allow a controversy over an athletic event -- even one as meaningful as this -- to distract attention away from all the critically important work that is being done to recover from the storm and get our city back on track."
Related: NBCNewYork.com coverage of Marathon's cancellation
A few hours earlier, Bloomberg told a press conference that holding the marathon would be a morale and money boost for the city.
“If you think back to 9/11, I think Rudy [Giuliani] made the right decision to run the marathon,” Bloomberg said of his predecessor after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. “It pulled people together and we have to find some ways to express ourselves and show solidarity to each other.”
Mayor Michael Bloomberg defends his decision to keep the New York Marathon on schedule in the wake of Sandy, recalling how the marathon "pulled people together after 911."
The New York City marathon is the world largest, with tens of thousands of participants. In a typical year, New Yorkers line the route’s 26 miles, turning the city into a giant party.
The race winds through all five boroughs, but it starts in hard-hit Staten Island, parts of which look like a disaster zone.
New York City Councilman James Oddo, who represents sections of Staten Island and Brooklyn, had been leading the charge against the marathon.
“If they take one first responder from Staten Island to cover this marathon, I will scream. We have people with no homes and no hope right now,” he posted on Twitter earlier in the week.
At least 19 of New York's 41 deaths occurred in the oft-forgotten borough, home to 500,000. Officials are still searching homes for survivors.
Jonathan Sanger / NBC News
Runners and workers prepare for the New York City Marathon near Central Park in New York, N.Y. where generators were set up on Friday, November 2, 2012 to power a media tent.
The death toll in the U.S. from Superstorm Sandy neared 100 victims on Friday, as New York City reported one more death and Bloomberg warned: "There could be more fatalities."
“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 not close to being ready for the race, which goes through each of New York’s five boroughs.
Bloomberg had vowed the marathon would not divert any resources from victims, and expected 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.
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.
Those visitors need hotel rooms, but many of them already are occupied by New Yorkers displaced from their homes. Richard Nicotra, who owns the Hilton Garden Inn in Staten Island, has refused to throw out evacuees to honor reservations for marathon runners, according to NY1.
With power scarce, the three generators set up Friday to provide electricity to the marathon’s media tent in Central Park along the Upper West Side drew some attention.
The two active generators crank out 800 kilowatts of electricity, which would be enough to power 400 homes, the New York Post reported. The third unit, a backup, sits idle, in case one of others fails, the paper said.
Paul McCarthy, 43, who lives nearby, 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.”
Vote: Do you think the New York City Marathon should be cancelled?
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
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.”
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.”
David Friedman / NBC News
Superstorm Sandy made landfall Monday evening on a destructive and deadly path across the Northeast.
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 would 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.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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.
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Umm if having an economy was so important you think the city would have build an advanced sea wall system to prevent ocean surges from flooding the city in the first place. I dont understand how anyone will benefit from this since everyone has lost all their food to spoilage from loss of power, and new food supplies have yet to be brought in.
To expensive when you're forced to use Union labor.
Every picture of Romney...he is loading and lifting...Andrea Mitchel criticizes the man for working on the solution...Well, I think work is what will help these people and Mitt gets that...Obama dreams about it...
Romney-Ryan 2012
Welcome to OBAMA'S KATRINA
Just a reminder here, most of these pictures are properganda, they are staged. Like Ryan interupting a Soup Kitchen to get pictures of him washing an already Clean Pot. Check the picture out, when you wash pot and pans that size you are never that Dry nor do you wear a Watch. In the 60s I pulled my fair share of KP while in the Army. I don't know how much work his bus did but I'll bet they'll write off more work rhan it did and what about the Bus Driver being asked to put his butt on the line? I didn't see anyone offering Praises for Him!!!!
Please..you cannot be that stupid.
Sure he is,it seems to be a disease spreading amongst the socialist OB supporters,I sure hope we can find a cure.
Considering that Staten Island was one of the areas hit the hardest and the NYC marathon starts on Staten Island, you have to wonder where the priorities are of the people organizing the race.
There are several things to consider.
First, is resources. The people on Staten Island and NYC are running out of resources necessary for life. Clean water, food, and many only have the clothes on their back right now having lost all personal possessions. 30,000 marathon runners consume a lot of fresh water (handed out by volunteers) and food (like bananas, fruit, and energy bars) that are handed out for free to anyone that runs the race and afterwards.
Give that food, the clean water, and all the other resources to the people of of NYC and Staten Island that need it, not people coming in from areas that were not just hit by a hurricane. The t-shirts that people get for participating in a marathon, give the t-shirts to people who have nothing so they have at least another shirt to wear.
Second, the people of NY and New Jersey have already lost houses and many are forced to find other living arrangements like hotels or motels. However, many marathoners have booked the hotels in the area for this weekend. Are you telling me that you are going to kick out people that just lost their house who have to stay at a hotel to accommodate a marathon runner from out of town? Housing and shelter are limited because even if the house or apartment was not destroyed, people have no power or heat and they said it may take up to 6 weeks to get power restored to Staten Island. How selfish can a marathon runner be to kick someone out of a hotel room who now has no where else to go just because they qualified to run in the race?
Third, the carrying capacity of the roads and the inability to obtain basic consumable items like gas, batteries, and even trash bags suggests that the infrastructure to supply an extra 30,000 people descending into the city who will also use consumable but limited goods and gas to get around and if you have ever seen the streets after a marathon, a lot of trash will be generated (mostly cups and food wrappers). New York does not need that right now...no one does. Save consumables by not bringing in more people to use them.
There have been ideas floated about putting the marathon runners to work but first, you still have 30,000 extra mouths to feed, shelter, and transport and not all runners are going to want to enter into some forced labor to clean up. The best thing to do would be to cancel the NYC marathon and suggest that people stay home. If they still want to volunteer, then do so through an organization because having 30,000 people at the starting line suddenly try to get organized into clean up as some suggest will just be mass pandemonium.
To the officials of NYC, get your priorities straight.
I think the marathon should have been delayed on Tuesday after the storm. I heard on the Today show that people who found hotel rooms are having to leave the hotels due to the runners comming in with reservations. Sad situation, what were you thinking Bloomberg!!
Bloomberg isn't thinking....He only thinks about the revenue being the rich turd he is. Compassion and humanity always come before money Mr. Bloomberg
he doesn't think, that was obviuos yesterday when he endorsed Obama.
One thing I didn't know was
6:06AM EDT November 2. 2012 - He may have discouraged a post-storm presidential visit this week, but New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed President Obama for re-election Thursday. So Just this morning.
They call it flip flopper!!
Call it what it is. Bloomburg probably told the President that they have everything under control. Bloomburg can't see past the end of his nose. It's probably not to bad where he lives, so he thinks that it is that way across the 5 boroghs.
My initial reaction was a crystal clear "postpone/cancel the race!"
But then I stop and think for a moment. Bloomberg, who (despite the comments above) is clearly NOT an idiot and who has a pretty solid grasp of what his city wants and needs, thinks the Marathon is a good idea. Why is that?
I think there are a few reasons why Bloomberg and his supporters are trying to get the race run as scheduled:
1. The city has already spent a ton of money doing the necessary prep work over the last months to get ready for this thing. Rescheduling would be enormously expensive.
2. A bunch of businesses depend on this event every year to make their nut, and moving it will hurt them. Most of those businesses are small, btw.
3. It's a symbol, and when you are the largest city in the United States of America, symbols are important.
There are probably a lot of other good, solid reasons to run this thing as scheduled. Bloomberg is looking at those reasons seriously, as he should. His job is to make very difficult decisions after seriously and soberly weighing the options.
However, my personal opinion here, running this event, which starts in Staten Island (clearly an area that suffered huge, maybe the hugest, damage), as scheduled is inappropriate, to say the very least. If I were looking at the empty space where my house used to stand, digging thru rubble trying to find some of my possessions, worried about missing or, God forbid, dead loved ones, trying to figure out how to feed and shelter my kids, or any of the other million things many New Yorkers are facing right now, I'd be offended (understatement) if an event of this magnitude took place in front of me.
Read my post above and see if you agree. There are more reasons not to run the race.
All the resources from the marathon, yes, while already purchased, could be re-purposed such as clean water and food for people affected, not healthy marathon runners.
Second, areas like Staten Island do not have power and no power is expected for maybe 6 weeks. I do not think business on Staten Island is helped by a marathon, especially if there is no power at the business.
A better symbol for people (who have no power and really no TV, internet, and just maybe their cell phones) is to see Mayor Bloomberg on Staten Island with a shovel, a bull horn, and actually working to get people help. Not 30,000 marathoners who are treated better than the residents. Considering that the marathoners will be given free water, food, and a t-shirt for the race, there are better uses for those items and 30,000 people consume a lot of resources.
On top of that 30,000 people do go to the bathroom. In some places on Staten Island and Long Island, raw sewage is coming up in homes, on the street, and the facilities do not exist yet to handle 30,000 extra people no matter what money companies will lose as sponsors. One does not bring 30,000 people into a disaster area...it is against all Emergency Planning that cities go through...resources are limited, there is no power, no food, no heat, and raw sewage and toxins from spills (like the oil spill from the oil tanker beached on shore on the island). You are just exposing 30,000 more people to possible harm or getting sick and are opening up the city and the NYC marathon organizers to lawsuits should any runner get injured while running because of the effects of the hurricane.
Well, I think that it is to soon maybe next week this time but not 4 days. to soon. After Katrina, New Orleans did pretty much the same thing for a football game, fixing the stadium and all but there was more time past and the really major concerns of the people were addressed and it was at a point where it said to the people that they were succeeding in clean up efforts. They had power restored, people had food and shelter again and all that was pretty much left was the daunting task of debrie cleanup. It did a lot for peoples moral. There is a time for everything and I don't feel that New Yorks' 5 boroghs are at that point yet. Just my view and don't want to be politicized about.
I live in Salt Lake City how can you run a marathon when so many people need help? What are those people thinking? I feel for those people that lost everything we all need to pitch in help. Come on New York! Did we run a marathon after 9/11 this is very disappointing to me. It shows me were these people values are so sad we are better than that.
I think the marathon should have been delayed due to the storm. On the news they said victims who were able to get hotel rooms now have to give them up due to the runners comming in with reserations. Bad decision Bloomberg!!
All those who can even make it into Staten Island should show respect to those suffering and refuse to run or just not show up. If the Bloomberg administration won't show good sense during recovery from an unprecedented weather event that has caused so much suffering and loss then the runners should show respect and not run this year.
NEW JERSEY turns away...volunteer workers who restore power.....BECAUSE THEY ARE NON-UNION!!!
WELCOME TO OBAMA'S KATRINA
WTF does that have to do with Obama you moron? Unions have been running NY and NJ for a thousand years and always will be. It's disgusting that you genuinely wish more people had died in the hopes that Obama would look incompetent like Bush, but it just didn't happen and now you're making crap up. Screw you loser. When everyone else pulls together, Repugnicans can be guaranteed to pull apart.
Obama came in....photo-op....what did Obama do after that?? Exactly what he did after the 4 dead Americans in Libya....HE WENT DIRECTLY TO LAS VEGAS..
THIS IS OBAMA'S KATRINA.
Your Romnysia is showing and New Jersey is not going to turn down help from power workers because of unions That's retarded. As for Libya it was the Republins in charge of Security sitting in Washington that caused these mens lives. You to politicize this shows disrespect for these men and what a Piece of Sheet you are!!!!
YOU better google......
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Non-Union-Utility-Crews-from-Alabama-Turned-Away-From-Helping-NJ-Sandy-Victims-176949061.html
I could be wrong, but it sounds to me like people mistakenly think that resources will be diverted when in fact they will not. From the sound of it, this event will help a lot more than it hurts, particularly in the fundraising department. Again, this is just from reading the article. I don't know enough about the marathon to have a truly informed opinion.
I'll bet the guy running the bar ups the cost of a beer or drinl another couple of bucks, runs out of hooch, and doesn't make what claims he would. I'll put up $100 on that.
Go ahead and put your money where your mouth is 6dogs,the people of NY could use it for relief ,more than you winning a bet,and Alabama Non union electricians were turned away because they are non union,seriously pay attention before you call people names,you
know what they say about finger pointing,And if B.O. Can part the waters and have us all holding hands singing his praises, Im sure He could influence Bloomberg to postpone,or are you admitting he is a puppet figure head and a bad one at that ?
The winner this year will recieve a gallon of gas, a flashlight and a pistol with one bullet.
I don't understand how anybody can travel to that area for recreation purposes at this time. How could you stand on the starting line and not think about the thousands of people within a one mile radius that is in need of serious support? So sad.
Although I agree the marathon probably should not be held, but what is an acceptable distance from the disaster area in which people should be able to continue their normal day to day lives without being ridiculed? 50 miles, 100 miles, 3,000 miles??? No matter what number you pick, someone would take issue with it.
Bloomberg is in a lose-lose situation. Have the Marathon and get blasted for being insensitive, or cancel the marathon and get blasted for "letting nature win". I'd ere on postponing it and keep the focus on clean up. Whether or not any essential services were diverted or not, the perception is they will be. The businesses losing revenue from a postponement can hope for returns at a later date - and they can't out-shout the angry masses.
Mike......The lose-lose situation you point out could lead to political suicide for Bloomberg if he forges ahead with marathon.
This is not the time to be running a big gaudy sporting event. The lesson for a mayor of NY: Think of the outer boroughs. Remember what happened to John Lindsey when he didn't clear the snow. (Hint, that was the end of his political career). A lot of roads are just now reopening. The subway and LIRR is only partially operational. Staten Island had received far more damage than was realized. Be a statesman, Mike. East some crow and postpone it or better yet cancel it this year. It's a sign of respect for the ordinary voters who do not have 24 billion dollars and have to struggle through this mess. Doing the right think is also good politics. (see Obama and Christie as examples) And while you're canceling the marathon could I please buy a 20 oz coke, Mr Mayor, Please.
LUDICROUS !!!! That is the only word I can think of to describe my thoughts of them running a marathon in the very recent aftermath of a storm so severe that it has destroyed so many peoples lives and livelihood. How is this marathon going to bring back any normalcy to those that are out in the cold without a home? How is this going to feed those that have lost everything? How is this going to comfort those that have lost loved ones? How Mr. Bloomberg How? I would like you to stand before those people and tell them how they should be thankful for a marathon being run while they suffer the greatest losses of their life and see if they are grateful for your consideration. LUDICROUS......JUST LUDICROUS !!!
Marathon clean up?
In a crisis problem and solution sometimes appear together; having 10,000 energetic highly trained athletes could be problem, but also a solution.
If they could be given work gloves, trash bags, garden tools and do one hell of a job cleaning up, in four hours that’s 20 labor years or about 4 million dollars in free labor.
This marathon could be made into wise use of a major asset, and gift to civic pride.
A fistful of dollars for some businesses. How about the businesses that were destroyed and people's homes by the thousands? Have these people no shame whatsoever? Life does have to go on but not 5-6 days after this disaster. The damn race can go on at another time. People can't get gas, generators and goods and Bloomdumb is more worried about endorsing Obama and holding a race then people's lives. What a bunch of crass people in charge.
Wow--simply amazing, 'Mayor' Bloomberg! How can you NOT pull extremely needed limited resources from the rescue and recovery efforts to man a marathon? And where are all those marathoners and their entourage going to stay? With all the displaced residents????? Answer me THAT, Bobble Head!
if you can pull this off without diverting a SINGLE resource needed for somewhere else, fine go ahead. But, I think a lot of people will have a hard time believing that.
Bloomberg knows what's good for you. No large sugary drinks because you are too dumb to decide for yourself. Now he OK's the marathon because "he wants to". Nanana nana na. I'm the rich guy who decides what NY will do and what they won't do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did they not ask them to evacuate and did they not have televisions on this past 2 weeks prior listening to how bad this storm would be like the rest of the country? Why didn't they evacuate? If it meant saving my children and my lives, you bet I would. Just like anything else, people hear what they want, different news sources skew the info they way they want, and people complain. I do believe they need help, and wonder what is being done and how it is different from every other storm ravaged place on the east coast.
I really don't think you can get anymore ignorant than this.
Seems like both sides of the argument are missing an opportunity. A huge crowd of folks from around the world has plans to descend upon NYC. City officials and Marathon planners should ask those folks to help cleanup, donate funds, whatever is necessary. Nothing would inspire people to help out more than experiencing the devastation first hand. And nothing would inspire the recovery more than to show that life goes on by letting the marathon proceed as planned. Ask these athletes to step up their game, and THEN go to the game. They have an opportunity to inspire a nation and the world with an ability to do more than run a marathon.