Bloomberg booed in Rockaway

From the Daily News:

Mayor Bloomberg was dogged by jeers as he marched in a St. Patrick’s Day parade through the Rockaways, booed by some residents frustrated with the city’s response to Hurricane Sandy.

The parade was a welcome break for the Queens neighborhoods devastated by the storm but the dozens of boarded-up businesses and damaged homes along the route were a symbol of the work that still needed to be done — and the raw feelings of the locals.

“I booed loudly,” said Margaret Wagner, 48. “We had no food, no shelter. People died here, and Bloomberg was on TV talking about a marathon. It’s appalling.”

Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the mayoral frontrunner, briefly walked with Bloomberg but then fell back along the route.

Bloomberg cancels marathon

From the Daily News:

“The Marathon has been an integral part of New York City’s life for 40 years and is an event tens of thousands of New Yorkers participate in and millions more watch. 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.

"The marathon has always brought our city together and inspired us with stories of courage and determination. We would not want a cloud to hang over the race or its participants, and so we have decided to cancel it. 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. The New York Road Runners will have additional information in the days ahead for participants.”

As our Larry McShane noted earlier today in a story published prior to the cancellation, Bloomberg had been getting major heat for pushing to let the footrace proceed as planned:

Mayor Bloomberg is running into trouble over his decision to hold Sunday’s marathon - with even longtime political ally Christine Quinn questioning his decision.

Maybe not the best time for the marathon

From the Daily News:

Who needs electricity, when we can watch tens of thousands of runners testing their physical limits on our streets?

That’s how it will be sold to America. And of course, this is nonsense. It is almost always nonsense when we turn sports events into something more important than what they are.

The Marathon is being run, mainly, because it would be a pain in the neck to reschedule, and because it would cost organizers and local businesses a ton of money. Not because this race is of any importance to the people who are huddled in shelters right now, still waiting for some hot water, or sitting homeless after their buildings have burned to the ground.

And definitely not because it is the right thing to do.

“If you saw what I saw in South Beach, Midland Beach and New Dorp Beach this morning, you would know how idiotic it would be to take even one asset away from people in dire need,” wrote Staten Island Councilman James Oddo.

The New York Marathon is a mass event that will tax the city’s strained resources, and should not forge ahead on Sunday. It will be run nonetheless, and likely go ahead without terrible incident. But it will be draining the police presence needed elsewhere and will fill precious hospital beds with relatively wealthy people who are inflicting damage unnecessarily upon themselves. Bellevue Hospital and NYU Langone have been forced to shut down and evacuate patients after the hurricane. The last thing this city needs at the moment is a rash of self-imposed injuries and cardiac complications.

And the marathon will have power while a million people are sitting in darkness!