Sunday's New York City Marathon has been called off in the aftermath of the super storm Sandy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced. In a statement, the mayor said....."We would not want a cloud to hang over the race or its participants, and so we have decided to cancel it. 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. 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."Plans to press ahead with the race had prompted uproar from politicians in cyclone-ravaged parts of the city. It was not immediately clear if the race would be rescheduled for another date.
Elected officials representing Staten Island were among the harshest critics of Mayor Bloomberg's earlier statements that the race would go ahead. US Representative Michael Grimm said....."We're still pulling bodies out of the water and the mayor is worried about marathon runners and returning to life as normal. The Verrazano Bridge should be used for getting fuel and food in to Staten Island, not getting runners out. Police resources would be best allocated to prevent looting and in rescue and recovery operations."
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