Shame on Mayer Bloomberg

NEW YORK (AP) - 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.''

MY COMMENT: Yes, Mayor Bloomberg, TWO MONTHS later, not TWO WEEKS later. People are really starting to get furious. If you care anything for the people of that great city, they should come first. Many people are saying that the mayor doesn’t know or care anything about Staten Island, just Manhattan. Staten Island has no power, no food, no water. Homes were robbed. People may be dead in homes because they couldn’t get out but no one was coming to help. You can read more of the article and some of the people’s comments a little further down in the article. Shame on Mayor Bloomberg.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/more/wires/11/02/2080.ap.us.superstorm.marathon.5th.ld.writethru.1107/index.html#ixzz2B6FC6EHS