On Wednesday, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg triumphantly announced that the NYC marathon would go ahead as scheduled on Sunday November 4. That’s merely six days after Hurricane Sandy hit the region.
Per an ESPN story
“I think some people said you shouldn’t run the marathon,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news briefing Wednesday. “There’s an awful lot of small businesses that depend on these people. We have to have an economy. There’s lots of people that have come here. It’s a great event for New York, and I think for those who were lost, you’ve got to believe they would want us to have an economy and have a city go on for those that they left behind.”
The marathon brings an estimated $340 million in economic impact to the city. Organizers will also use it as a backdrop to raise money for recovery efforts. Race organizer NYRR will donate $1 million to the fund and said more than $1.5 million in pledges already had been secured from sponsors.
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The Daily Beast reported on the reaction.
And, as one can imagine, The NY Post was really vehemently opposed.
Fox Business covered the story all Friday and their Charlie Gasparino broke the story that the marathon would be cancelled.
He said it firmly, with conviction. And he clearly had done his homework. See here.
And a few hours later, the marathon was indeed cancelled.
“The marathon has always brought our city together and inspired us with stories of courage and determination,” Bloomberg said in a statement. “We would not want a cloud to hang over the race or its participants, so we have decided to cancel it.”
Tough call, but it was the right one with so much anger mounting. It wouldn’t have been a good environment for the runners.
Kudos to Mr. Gasparino for breaking the story!
According to The New York Times, the marathon generates an estimated $340 million in spending, thanks in part to more than 20,000 runners from overseas who spend money at hotels, restaurants, theaters and shops. A lot of those folks are already in NYC.