The Marathon

[fivewide]

Originally Posted by fukushimajin

Nonsense.

You have a growing anger among millions of NYers who have been living without power, hot water, etc...have damaged homes, their lives are in turmoil.

They will use this event as a way of taking out their anger. Please scan BB from JI to political forums...there are many, many people who say they will take to the streets in protest...My friend works for the city council and they are begging the mayors office to cancel...the police department wants to cancel as they fear rioting as well.

So please eleaborate on how this is "nonsense"

[fukushimajin]

Originally Posted by frostlich

Because the focus is not on the most important task at hand.

Now you have storm victims competing with marathon for hotel rooms.

Disgraceful.

That's the first really good point I've heard. The hotel rooms. Good point. Like I said, it may be a bad decision but NY is what it is.

[fukushimajin]

Originally Posted by fivewide

You have a growing anger among millions of NYers who have been living without power, hot water, etc...have damaged homes, their lives are in turmoil.

They will use this event as a way of taking out their anger. Please scan BB from JI to political forums...there are many, many people who say they will take to the streets in protest...My friend works for the city council and they are begging the mayors office to cancel...the police department wants to cancel as they fear rioting as well.

So please eleaborate on how this is "nonsense"

There will be no riots because of what the Post does/says. Also, I don;t want to open a scab here, but the vast majority of people in desperate need of help right now deliberately ignored a mandatory evacuation order. There are plenty of old, infirm, sick or other poor people who couldn't evacuate who could have been helped in these areas if the people who had the ability to leave had evacuated.

[FlagmanL11]

Originally Posted by crasherino

I am becoming increasingly more agitated over the marathon going forward this weekend. With people still missing, millions without power in every boro that the marathon goes through, its down right disrespectful and an awful misallocation of resources to have the marathon continuing as planned.

Figure out a way to reschedule, cancel it, move it....I don't really care, but its not appropriate to have it less than a week after this catastrophe with a huge number of people in the NY Metro area still suffering. How can there be any generator used for marathon preparations when people in Staten Island literally have no food to eat? How can there be 100s of police assigned to marathon detail when there are fist fights at practically every gas station in the area?

The more I think about, the angrier I get. JMO.

These runners are a very annoying group of people as a whole... always get in the way when I am driving... and now they hold the marathon, kicking stranded people out of the hotels for the out of town runners... someone is going to lose their sh!!T when 20,000 runners come thourgh their destroyed neighborhood like nothing happened....

[Warfish]

I'll be honest, if I was living anywhere near the Marathon, I'd be damned sure to interupt it as much as possible. **** them.

[fukushimajin]

Originally Posted by Warfish

I'll be honest, if I was living anywhere near the Marathon, I'd be damned sure to interupt it as much as possible. **** them.

That'll really help the people of Staten Island!

[1greenNUT]

Kenny Powers lays it down

[Warfish]

Originally Posted by fukushimajin

That'll really help the people of Staten Island!

Sorry, I can't reply to you further without getting all personal attack-y about your foolish, selfish, idiotic, moronic opinion in the thread.

As such, I'll simply have to pass, as any reply I could make at this point would include a number of ****s, ****s and other colorful metaphors used to describe my disdain for your viewpoint.

Enjoy your race.

[fukushimajin]

Originally Posted by FlagmanL11

These runners are a very annoying group of people as a whole... always get in the way when I am driving... and now they hold the marathon, kicking stranded people out of the hotels for the out of town runners... someone is going to lose their sh!!T when 20,000 runners come thourgh their destroyed neighborhood like nothing happened....

You know who I hate? The gum chewers. F-them. Also fat people who never take a bath. People with Jersey plates can GFT! BTW, Where are you driving that runners are always getting in your way?

[Borgoguy]

This image it all. Generators for the runners, not for the millions without power. Bloomberg and anyone else pushing for the marathon to be run should get a real a$$ kicking.





Some lady from the devastated New Dorp Beach area of Staten Island (where the race begins) said it best: "Maybe the runners should be running onto the island with food and clothing to help us."

As hundreds of thousands of Big Apple residents suffer in homes left without power by Hurricane Sandy, two massive generators are being run 24/7 in Central Park — to juice a media tent for Sunday’s New York City Marathon.

And a third “backup” unit sits idle, in case one of the generators fails.

EDITORIAL: Marathon is power mad!

The three diesel-powered generators crank out 800 kilowatts — enough to power 400 homes in ravaged areas like Staten Island, the Rockaways and downtown Manhattan.


SHOCKING: As Sue Somma waits for power in her ruined Staten Island living room yesterday, a marathon tent in Central Park is getting plenty of juice.
Dan Brinzac
As of Friday morning, five generators sat outside of the park along with electrical stations and transformers.

In addition to the generators, a food services truck dropped off hundreds of cases of water, sparking angered responses from hurricane victims.

"I am from Coney Island where everything is flooded and underwater," Yelena Gomelsky, 65, said. "I live 1 block from the ocean where everything is floating. "[Seeing the generators and water] makes me feel so bad. People have no food, no water, nothing.

"They should make all of these runners bring food and water to people's houses who need it. They should bring all of these generators to buildings where old people live and give them power."

Since emergency executive orders have been issued, the governor, mayor — or even President Obama — could take the generators for a more important use, explained Pace University law professor Bennett Gershman.

Such an emergency action would need the approval of the City Council, state Legislature or Congress. And they would have to compensate the owners of the devices.

But plenty in the city wish they had taken such decisive action. After all, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie postponed Halloween for safety reasons, so Gov. Cuomo or Mayor Bloomberg should issue an executive order for lifesaving generators.

Manhattah Borough Preisdent Scott Stringer voiced his opinion on Friday, saying that the city needs to recognize the suffering following "a tragedy of historic proportions."

"New Yorkers in Staten Island, the Rockaways, Coney Island and Lower Manhattan are struggling to keep body and soul together, deprived of basic essentials as temperatures drop," Stringer said.

"For this reason, and after significant deliberation, I believe we should postpone and re-schedule the New York City Marathon in order to focus all of the City's resources on the crucial task of helping our neighbors recover from this disaster. New Yorkers deserve nothing less than to know that the entire government is focused solely on returning the City and their region back to normalcy."

ellow pol Margaret Chin echoed Stringer's concern.

“We’re struggling here, and we want the city to know that,” Councilwoman Chin of Chinatown said yesterday.

She asked the Office of Emergency Management on Tuesday for a generator to run pumps to get water to stranded seniors.

“They’re telling me there are other priorities,” Chin said.

One hotel on Staten Island has its priorities straight.

Frank Sanchez, the general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn, said he will not honor marathoners’ reservations if it means throwing out storm refugees.

“While we understand they have reservations, we know they are going back to their regular lives in two days. Our neighbors will not have that opportunity,’’ he e-mailed The Post.


SHOCKING: As Sue Somma waits for power in her ruined Staten Island living room yesterday, a marathon tent in Central Park is getting plenty of juice.
Dan Brinzac
The New York Road Runners Club, which organizes the world-famous race, is paying for the generators, which were supplied by Long Island-based On Site Energy for the massive, 80-yard-long tent, which also will be used by runners carbo-loading during a pre-race pasta dinner tomorrow.

Neither would say how much the machines cost, but a Fire Department permit revealed a $37,500 fee to run them constantly through Nov. 6.

“These are our private generators. We are not draining any resources from the city’s plan to recover,” Road Runners spokesman Richard Finn angrily insisted.

Still, Con Ed said yesterday that some of its customers would remain without power for more than a week.

Meanwhile, sources told The Post precious city resources were also being diverted to prepare for the marathon, including more than a dozen NYPD flatbed trucks taken from disaster-relief work at sites including Breezy Point, Queens, where more than 100 homes burned to the ground.

The trucks, normally used to carry metal barricades for parades and other events, had been transporting residents hard hit by the storm.

But they’re all being recalled to get cleaned up so they can bring the barriers that will line the route of the marathon, a police source said.

“People could still use our help,” the source said. “We’re serving a purpose shuttling them back and forth.”

Plans call for up to 100 cops from all around the city to deploy the barricades today.

“You know what this is about? This is all so Bloomberg can stand at the finish line Sunday and tell the world we bounced back,” the source said.

“But these poor people on Breezy, who knows when and if they will bounce back?”

Bloomberg defended the decision to keep the race on track.

“The marathon is not going to redirect any focus. Keep in mind, by Sunday, we’ll have electricity back downtown,” he predicted.

“That will free up an enormous number of police.”

Staten Islander Sue Somma, whose neighbors — John Filipowicz Sr. and his 20-year-old son, John Jr. — drowned in their flooded basement, said, “People don’t realize what other people are going through.

“This is the way we live — with stupid decisions,” she said.

“The city always does these stupid things.”

A veteran police lieutenant noted the National Guard was distributing free food last night at several spots in lower Manhattan — while the administration keeps the marathon a priority.

“How can you run a marathon when you have people starving in Manhattan?” he asked.

Other sources said NYPD and Department of Transportation personnel who had been providing relief on Staten Island were told to drop what they were doing and report to Brooklyn today to get ready for the marathon.

Official race preparations yesterday included closing all lanes on the Staten Island-bound upper level of the Verrazano Bridge for more than an hour of work.

Staten Islander Joseph Masella, 62, called running the marathon “the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Have some respect for our citizens . . . They’re still finding bodies here,” he fumed.

Staten Island Councilman James Oddo said, “The notion of taking one cop, one first responder, one resource, one asset and diverting it so that they stand at a post to watch runners go by when we’re still searching for bodies? It’s sinful to me!’’

Brooklyn Councilman Vincent Gentile said, “With some neighborhoods still smoldering, I think postponing the marathon would be a better option.”

Additional reporting by Philip Messing, Yoav Gonen, Brian Lewis and Bruce Golding

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/t...pzFCGhSF8oM5kN

[fivewide]

Originally Posted by fukushimajin

There will be no riots because of what the Post does/says. Also, I don;t want to open a scab here, but the vast majority of people in desperate need of help right now deliberately ignored a mandatory evacuation order. There are plenty of old, infirm, sick or other poor people who couldn't evacuate who could have been helped in these areas if the people who had the ability to leave had evacuated.

You are missing the point.

Im not saying there is any justification to riot. Im not arguing whether people should have evacuated. Im saying there will be major problems if they run this race, and I hope to god im completely wrong.

[crasherino]

Originally Posted by fukushimajin

I see everyone's point, be it can't be postponed. It's an international event, runners are here from all over the world. The Bridges aren't closed to emergency vehicles and the police are barely needed anyway -- most of the work is done by volunteers. Bad optics, no doubt, but there won't be any harm. We are not New Orleans. Period.

Originally Posted by fukushimajin

It's not a competition -- and it may be a bad decision,but New York simply cannot remain shut down. The City is what it is, both good and bad because of that attitude. Can't and shouldn't change it now. Cancelling things is the safe decision for any administrator. Going ahead with things and planning adequately for them takes guts and is hard. I'm no Bloomberg supporter, but he is trying to think both of the present situation and the city's future.

Also, parenthetically, police are, by far, the least important of the city services right now as they have no role in power restoration, moving debris or moving supplies. They are needed to control traffic, but on a Sunday that is hardly a problem.

Can a cop fix a transformer? Maybe not. But, can a cop help with crowd control at a gas station? Can a cop help direct traffic on 14th and 9th because there are no traffic lights? Can a cop help search for people that are still missing in Staten Island? Absolutely. There a plenty of needs for law enforcement this weekend and they will be otherwise occupied manning a saw horse in Central Park to keep some Japanese tourist from getting to close to some runners.

I'm all for restoring normalcy as quickly as possible, but when people are suffering in the way they are suffering, its an absolute insult to have this specific event going on. The marathon is a normally a literal tour of New York City. If you want to take a literal tour of NYC this weekend, you'd see death and destruction, not a bunch emaciated obsessive/compulsives in nut cutter shorts.

Its an absolute insult to have the race go on when most NY/NJites are sitting in a freezing, dark house, displaced with friends/relatives or possibly much, much worse. You're right its a bad optic. Its a terrible optic. And while I have no previous animus against Bloomberg (not a huge fan, but whatever) and think he did as good a job he could have up til this point, he should be ashamed of himself for not doing the right thing here.

[sect313]

Originally Posted by Borgoguy

This image it all. Generators for the runners, not for the millions without power. Bloomberg and anyone else pushing for the marathon to be run should get a real a$$ kicking.





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i agree the marathon should not be run but those generators are not city generators. they are paid for privately so it really has no bearing on the situation. the city could buy some of those and put them in areas of need but that has nothing to do with the marathon

[crasherino]

Originally Posted by fukushimajin

That's the first really good point I've heard. The hotel rooms. Good point. Like I said, it may be a bad decision but NY is what it is.

Please elaborate...."NY is what it is?" WTF does that mean?

[Borgoguy]

Originally Posted by sect313

i agree the marathon should not be run but those generators are not city generators. they are paid for privately so it really has no bearing on the situation. the city could buy some of those and put them in areas of need but that ha snoting to do with the marathon

Sure it does. Instead of being used for a stupid race, take them over to Verrazano and help power some gas stations, supermarkets, or anything else which fosters some shred of comfort/assistance to the people over on Staten Island who need it. Generators that huge could power vital services.

[jetstream23]

I'd go stand on the sideline near Bloomberg at the marathon and hand these out to the runners...

[fukushimajin]

Originally Posted by fivewide

You are missing the point.

Im not saying there is any justification to riot. Im not arguing whether people should have evacuated. Im saying there will be major problems if they run this race, and I hope to god im completely wrong.

People will not riot because of the race -- is my point. NY'ers are not like that.

[sect313]

Originally Posted by Borgoguy

Sure it does. Instead of being used for a stupid race, take them over to Verrazano and help power some gas stations, supermarkets, or anything else which fosters some shred of comfort/assistance to the people over on Staten Island who need it. Generators that huge could power vital services.

i agree but the city needs to buy them and do it. if there was no marathon those generators would not be used for anything else because they were bought with private money. they would not be in the city at all

[fukushimajin]

Originally Posted by crasherino

Please elaborate...."NY is what it is?" WTF does that mean?

NY is a place that takes seriously it's responsibility as one of the cultural centers of the world. Sometimes that makes it tough on the people who live there. The city can't/won't kick travelers out of hotel rooms (if it even has that power) unless it absolutely has to.

[Borgoguy]

They gonna still have those pasta tents the night before the race so the runners can carbo load? With so many people missing hot meals for days now (lots of kids which kills me), that would be the height of insult. Get Barilla, Ronzoni, and all the other pasta companies to open these tents in some of the boroughs providing necessary food.