The New York marathon has been cancelled for the first time in its history in an embarrassing U-turn by city officials, with the decision coming as widespread fuel shortages caused chaos in states struggling to recover from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy.
Devastation in Queens
The marathon, which was due to take place on Sunday with 47,000 entrants from all over the world, was cancelled on Friday night just hours after Michael Bloomberg, the city's mayor, had insisted the race would go ahead.
Mr Bloomberg made the surprise announcement as mile-long queues at petrol stations and fighting between customers were reported, with one man in New York arrested for allegedly pulling a gun on another motorist
Some New Yorkers have resorted to digging through rubbish bins looking for food. Images filmed by NBC in New York show residents of the Lower East Side, which had been without power since Monday, digging through a skip in search edible waste.
Storm victims said that to host the marathon while people were still suffering in the wake of Sandy was in poor taste.
A police officer directs traffic as a line of motorists stretches down Frenchtown Road in Milford Borough, N.J.
It is believed to be the first time since the race’s inception in 1970 that it has been cancelled. It went ahead in 2001 just two months after the September 11 terror attacks.
The decision was cheered by New Yorkers who organized a social media campaign accusing the authorities of being out of touch. However, it brought disappointment to the thousands of runners entered, many of whom had travelled from other countries to take part.
Announcing the decision, Mr Bloomberg insisted that holding the race "would not require diverting resources from the recovery effort".
However, he added: "It is clear that it has become the source of controversy and division".
He continued: “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.”
Previously Mr Bloomberg’s insistence that the race went ahead was described as “idiotic” by one local politician.
Staten Island Councilman James Oddo made the remark on his Facebook page and then told the New York Daily News: “The notion of diverting even one police officer, one first responder, one asset away from this carnage is beyond irrational."
The fuel shortage in New York and New Jersey has seen huge queues of cars and people on foot attempting to fill jerry cans to fuel generators in the absence of electricity, leading to outbreaks of frustration.
In Queens, New York, a man was arrested after he attempted to jump the queue at a petrol station and then allegedly pointed a pistol at another customer. Sean Bailey, 35, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Andrew Cuomo, the Governor of New York state, said he would suspend requirements on tankers docking in the New York Harbour, which had just reopened to oil vessels. One ship carrying two million gallons of gasoline had docked overnight in Newburgh, 60 miles north of New York City.
Mr Bloomberg said he hoped the transit situation would ease when the subway system came into use again, expected to happen over the weekend.
In New Jersey, pump attendants have complained at the queues. Abhishek Soni, the owner of an Exxon outlet in Montclair, told the New York Times that disputes at his station became so bad that he called the police and turned off the pumps for 45 minutes to restore calm.
“I’ve been pumping gas for 36 hours; I pumped 17,000 gallons,” he told the newspaper. “My nose, my mouth is bleeding from the fumes.”
Chris Christie, the Governor of New Jersey, deployed state police troopers to storm-hit areas to prevent “potential looting or other crimes”.
New Jersey is also dealing with the emergence of an outbreak of carbon monoxide-related deaths after people were exposed to the gas while using petrol or diesel-driven generators to provide power.
Five people are understood to have died in such incidents since Monday. Exposure to carbon monoxide can occur unless the generators, which produce the gas, are properly ventilated, .
“The problem we’re having is that people go out and buy portable generators and have no idea what they’re doing,” said Dr Steven Marcus, director of New Jersey’s poison control centre.
Atlantic City residents were preparing to return to their homes for the first time since a mandatory evacuation order a week ago.
The city, one of the worst-hit areas of the storm, has also been given the green light for its casinos to reopen.
However the clean-up may be compounded by threats of a new storm that could hit the east coast of the US next week, just after the country goes to the polls in the presidential election on Tuesday. M
Meteorologists say that the storm, which will not be as severe as Sandy, is six days out and may divert before it is due to hit.
The marathon, which was due to take place on Sunday with 47,000 entrants from all over the world, was cancelled on Friday night just hours after Michael Bloomberg, the city's mayor, had insisted the race would go ahead.
Mr Bloomberg made the surprise announcement as mile-long queues at petrol stations and fighting between customers were reported, with one man in New York arrested for allegedly pulling a gun on another motorist
Some New Yorkers have resorted to digging through rubbish bins looking for food. Images filmed by NBC in New York show residents of the Lower East Side, which had been without power since Monday, digging through a skip in search edible waste.
Storm victims said that to host the marathon while people were still suffering in the wake of Sandy was in poor taste.
The fuel shortage has seen huge queues of cars and people on foot attempting to fill jerry cans to fuel generators
There were also fears that police officers currently occupied with the fall-out from the storm would be diverted to police the marathon. It is believed to be the first time since the race’s inception in 1970 that it has been cancelled. It went ahead in 2001 just two months after the September 11 terror attacks.
The decision was cheered by New Yorkers who organized a social media campaign accusing the authorities of being out of touch. However, it brought disappointment to the thousands of runners entered, many of whom had travelled from other countries to take part.
Announcing the decision, Mr Bloomberg insisted that holding the race "would not require diverting resources from the recovery effort".
However, he added: "It is clear that it has become the source of controversy and division".
He continued: “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.”
Previously Mr Bloomberg’s insistence that the race went ahead was described as “idiotic” by one local politician.
Staten Island Councilman James Oddo made the remark on his Facebook page and then told the New York Daily News: “The notion of diverting even one police officer, one first responder, one asset away from this carnage is beyond irrational."
The fuel shortage in New York and New Jersey has seen huge queues of cars and people on foot attempting to fill jerry cans to fuel generators in the absence of electricity, leading to outbreaks of frustration.
In Queens, New York, a man was arrested after he attempted to jump the queue at a petrol station and then allegedly pointed a pistol at another customer. Sean Bailey, 35, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Andrew Cuomo, the Governor of New York state, said he would suspend requirements on tankers docking in the New York Harbour, which had just reopened to oil vessels. One ship carrying two million gallons of gasoline had docked overnight in Newburgh, 60 miles north of New York City.
Mr Bloomberg said he hoped the transit situation would ease when the subway system came into use again, expected to happen over the weekend.
In New Jersey, pump attendants have complained at the queues. Abhishek Soni, the owner of an Exxon outlet in Montclair, told the New York Times that disputes at his station became so bad that he called the police and turned off the pumps for 45 minutes to restore calm.
“I’ve been pumping gas for 36 hours; I pumped 17,000 gallons,” he told the newspaper. “My nose, my mouth is bleeding from the fumes.”
Chris Christie, the Governor of New Jersey, deployed state police troopers to storm-hit areas to prevent “potential looting or other crimes”.
New Jersey is also dealing with the emergence of an outbreak of carbon monoxide-related deaths after people were exposed to the gas while using petrol or diesel-driven generators to provide power.
Five people are understood to have died in such incidents since Monday. Exposure to carbon monoxide can occur unless the generators, which produce the gas, are properly ventilated, .
“The problem we’re having is that people go out and buy portable generators and have no idea what they’re doing,” said Dr Steven Marcus, director of New Jersey’s poison control centre.
Atlantic City residents were preparing to return to their homes for the first time since a mandatory evacuation order a week ago.
The city, one of the worst-hit areas of the storm, has also been given the green light for its casinos to reopen.
However the clean-up may be compounded by threats of a new storm that could hit the east coast of the US next week, just after the country goes to the polls in the presidential election on Tuesday. M
Meteorologists say that the storm, which will not be as severe as Sandy, is six days out and may divert before it is due to hit.
No comments:
Post a Comment