NYC Cancels Marathon in Wake of Hurricane Sandy: Right Call?
SodaHead News
2012/11/03 21:19:00
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The New York City Marathon was set to take place on Sunday, despite the fact that much of the Tri-State area has yet to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. Keyword: Was.
After a great deal of criticism, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg opted to cancel Sunday's Marathon. While the Marathon would have brought money to the city, it would also have caused a great deal of inconvenience for drivers, who already have enough of a headache getting around town with uprooted trees, downed power lines, and broken traffic lights.
The New York Post's recent cover photo, which showed generators that could be used for Sandy victims being set up for Marathon runners instead, was most likely the breaking point for people who were already against the event being held. Two prominent New York City sports personalities of WFAN in Craig Carton and Mike Francesa helped bring to light the Marathon controversy on their respective, high-rated radio shows that are also broadcast on television. Some say that even though the Marathon is canceled, it shouldn't have been an issue to begin with.
Others say Mayor Bloomberg and New York City officials took way too long to exercise good judgment and common sense, following never-before-seen damage to the area. This especially true considering the fact that any runners who may have suffered breathing issues could have been in trouble because of lack of resources and overcrowded hospitals.
Much of the city's travel woes have improved since the storm hit early last week, but millions are still without power and in some areas such as Breezy Point and Staten Island, many have lost everything--including their lives. The New York City Marathon is not the only major event postponed. The Brooklyn Nets' home debut at the news Barclays Center was pushed back due to subway flooding.
After a great deal of criticism, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg opted to cancel Sunday's Marathon. While the Marathon would have brought money to the city, it would also have caused a great deal of inconvenience for drivers, who already have enough of a headache getting around town with uprooted trees, downed power lines, and broken traffic lights.
The New York Post's recent cover photo, which showed generators that could be used for Sandy victims being set up for Marathon runners instead, was most likely the breaking point for people who were already against the event being held. Two prominent New York City sports personalities of WFAN in Craig Carton and Mike Francesa helped bring to light the Marathon controversy on their respective, high-rated radio shows that are also broadcast on television. Some say that even though the Marathon is canceled, it shouldn't have been an issue to begin with.
Others say Mayor Bloomberg and New York City officials took way too long to exercise good judgment and common sense, following never-before-seen damage to the area. This especially true considering the fact that any runners who may have suffered breathing issues could have been in trouble because of lack of resources and overcrowded hospitals.
Much of the city's travel woes have improved since the storm hit early last week, but millions are still without power and in some areas such as Breezy Point and Staten Island, many have lost everything--including their lives. The New York City Marathon is not the only major event postponed. The Brooklyn Nets' home debut at the news Barclays Center was pushed back due to subway flooding.
Read More: http://espn.go.com/new-york/olympics/story/_/id/85...
Top Opinion
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AndrewPatton 2012/11/04 03:12:25Yes
+14You don't waste thousands of bottles of water on a marathon when people are in desperate need of potable water.
Clearly the answer is YES, but I would have loved to see the big libs fall on their swords! The mere fact the it took this much to persuade Bloomberg to call it off was simply absurd!
God Bless them all who are still going through this.
God Bless those who've lost loved ones through this horrible time.
God Bless those who've lost everything they own and emergency officials STILL have no idea where to put them.
God Bless those who've traveled across the country to help us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to their families. My husband's on a 7 day,15 hour on shift schedule since before the storm and it will be months before he's home again. He builds houses on Long Beach Island and is now on FEMA's list so he can go in and prevent more damage by houses precariously hanging on a thread. It's heart-breaking from every angle.
The only help we received was from neighbors who got their power back and brought us a hot meal when they got power to do so. I am used to losing power bc we live in the wood and a good wind or an accident even if miles away knocks us off the grid but this was intense.
We got a visit from Obama to take away ...
God Bless them all who are still going through this.
God Bless those who've lost loved ones through this horrible time.
God Bless those who've lost everything they own and emergency officials STILL have no idea where to put them.
God Bless those who've traveled across the country to help us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to their families. My husband's on a 7 day,15 hour on shift schedule since before the storm and it will be months before he's home again. He builds houses on Long Beach Island and is now on FEMA's list so he can go in and prevent more damage by houses precariously hanging on a thread. It's heart-breaking from every angle.
The only help we received was from neighbors who got their power back and brought us a hot meal when they got power to do so. I am used to losing power bc we live in the wood and a good wind or an accident even if miles away knocks us off the grid but this was intense.
We got a visit from Obama to take away our police forces and other resources and nothing...NOTHING came from it! A photo......that's it. No blankets, water and ice, nothing.....
My daughter works on the base nearby... FEMA arrived Friday...the working FEMA, not the officials that stood behind Christie in the press conferences. Friday. The storm hit Sunday night *smh*
WE ARE NEW JERSEY...we can handle anything BUT we pay the highest property taxes in the nation and still have high sales tax on top of it for everything but certain foods....what in the world are we paying for?
Anyway...I'm glad to be back and alive.
There is a power to prayer or good thoughts toward people and I thank all who did.