Report from New York City

**MegalosSkylaki** · November 2nd, 2012, 10:30 AM

Backlash erupts as New York City prepares for marathon

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer tells TODAY's Savannah Guthrie he believes Mayor Bloomberg should postpone the New York City marathon as congressman Michael Grimm from Staten Island says he's "angry" over plans to continue with the race

By NBC News staff and wires

NEW YORK -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's decision to proceed with the world's largest marathon on Sunday is stirring up controversy in the storm-ravaged metropolis.

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"If they take one first responder from Staten Island to cover this marathon, I will scream," New York City Councilman James Oddo said on his Twitter account. "We have people with no homes and no hope right now."

As emergency workers wade through flooded homes to look for survivors and millions of people remain without power in the U.S. Northeast, the death toll from Superstorm Sandy swelled to 95. At least 37 of those deaths were in New York City.
“The prudent course of action here — postpone the marathon, come back a different day,” Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer told TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie. “Our first priority, let’s help people who lost their homes, who are missing loved ones."

Stringer said downtown Manhattan, the city’s financial hub, “looks like a wasteland” and is nowhere close to being ready for the race, which goes through each of New York’s five boroughs.
Still, the city is planning to go ahead with the race, which kicks off on Staten Island, the hardest-hit borough, on Sunday.[Emphasis supplied]

The island, home to 500,000, suffered some of the worst destruction. At least 19 people who died in New York City lived on Staten Island.
On Thursday, the bodies of two children who had been missing on Staten Island since the storm were found. The boys, ages 2 and 4, were swept away from their mother’s arms Monday night after the car they were driving was swamped by floodwaters.

Bloomberg has vowed the marathon will not divert any resources from victims, and expects power to be restored to downtown Manhattan by race day. In defending his decision to go forward, the mayor cited the thousands of out-of-town visitors who come for the marathon.

"There's an awful lot of small businesses that depend on these people. We have to have an economy," Bloomberg told a news conference on Wednesday.
"It's a great event for New York, and I think for those who were lost, you know, 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."

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The New York Road Runners, which organizes the marathon, said the event will bring $340 million to the city. The club also announced on Thursday that it will donate at least $1 million, or $26.20 for each of the more than 40,000 runners expected to participate, to aid New Yorkers affected by Sandy.

From>>>

Backlash erupts as New York City prepares for marathon - U.S. News

Stringer is not the only opponant to not postponing the Marathon this Sunday.

With homeless people and people without power, hotel rooms could be better used at this time for locals than out-of-town Marathon visitors.

There have been weather postponements. What would happen if there was a storm this Sunday. What would they do? Postpone the race to next Sunday.

DOOG predicts the city i.e. Mayor Bloomberg wil see the light and postpone.

MegalosSkylaki

**MegalosSkylaki** · November 2nd, 2012, 02:01 PM

Insists that Marathon will not divert resources away from cleanup and will bring people into the City.

Where will the people come from?

New Jersey? Connecticutt?

With what gasoline? Gas stations are running out or their pumps are not working.

The City cannot support the people that are here already. Why would it want more people to come to a disaster zone? Restaurants have closed because the can't get food diliveries or have no power. Mayor predicts power will be back. Will the restaurants be back by Sunday?

1,000 police and three power generators for the Marathon. Plus the media that will come here to report on the Race needing power and tap into lightposts for that power.

Wouldn't many of the 47,000 runners prefer a postponement to next Sunday?

Is the Mayor counting on many no-shows? He doesn't know runners if he is.

Is anybody thinking this through?

MegalosSkylaki

**Chuckiechan** · November 2nd, 2012, 02:16 PM

I think they need to get organized. Get the national guard in there, get some (guarded) fuel trucks in and start selling gasoline - Iphone credit card apps work fine for starters.

And there has to be millions of army sleeping bags around. It's going to get cold, and lots of people are without heat. Nothing warmer than a GI sleeping bag!

I see a detachment, or denial, as to the fact that winter is coming making relief efforts harder than they are now.

Lastly, nuclear submarines can dock at piers and run power cables into critical infrastructure.

I don't see a happy ending her. Makes me wonder what an EMP attack would do.

**MegalosSkylaki** · November 2nd, 2012, 06:31 PM

Originally Posted by MegalosSkylaki

Insists that Marathon will not divert resources away from cleanup and will bring people into ther City.

Where will the people come from?

New Jersey? Connecticutt?

With what gasoline? Gas stations are running out or their pumps are not working.

The City cannot support the people that are here already. Why would it want more people to come to a disaster zone? Restaurants have closed because the can't get food diliveries or have no power. Mayor predits power will be back. Will the restaurants be back by Sunday?

1,000 police and three power generators for the Marathon. Plus the media that will come here to report on the Race needing power and tap into lightposts for that power.

Wouldn't many of the 47,000 runners prefer a postponement to next Sunday?

Is the Mayor counting on many no-shows? He doesn't know runners if he is.

Is anybody thinking this through?

MegalosSkylaki

Marathon is Postponed.
You heard it here first.
Mayor is not on TV.

MegalosSkylaki

**MegalosSkylaki** · November 5th, 2012, 10:04 AM

TOPP CAAT back at work, bringing home the bacon-flavored DooG Chow for da DOOG.

City is coming around ("and what rough beast, it's hour come around..."--Yeats) and busses still packed. Don't think anybody not a runner missed the NYC Marathon on Sunday....mayby some restaurants and bars were counting on it before the srorm, but after the storm, most had trouble keeping up with demand and many just closed.

Staten Island--go see the pictures--looks like a bomb hit it. Looks like Katrina, huh? DooG used to ferry over and cycle there...many moons gone.
Culturally and geographically, it was always more a part of New Jersey and seems to have kept up with this legacy with this bitter storm.

**MegalosSkylaki** · November 5th, 2012, 10:12 AM

Originally Posted by Chuckiechan

I think they need to get organized. Get the national guard in there, get some (guarded) fuel trucks in and start selling gasoline - Iphone credit card apps work fine for starters.

And there has to be millions of army sleeping bags around. It's going to get cold, and lots of people are without heat. Nothing warmer than a GI sleeping bag!

I see a detachment, or denial, as to the fact that winter is coming making relief efforts harder than they are now.

Lastly, nuclear submarines can dock at piers and run power cables into critical infrastructure.

I don't see a happy ending her. Makes me wonder what an EMP attack would do.

I think this has bought out how unprepared this area is for a catastrophy. Politicians are congradulating themselves for great job--but people don't se it. National Guard are out giving out water. Isn't there something more technically advanced it could be doing given the prolonged lack of power and cost of National Guard?

If this is due to global warming then there will be repititions. Very small envelope of response capabilities it seems. Unless the East Coast widens that envelope, there may be ultimately a movement inland.

MegalosSkylaki

**Epidemic** · November 5th, 2012, 10:28 AM

5.8 billion dollar water delivery service?

**MTAtech** · November 5th, 2012, 03:19 PM

Haven't posted due to lack of electricity. I had flooding where it never did in 50 years. Still don't have power and heat and HW is because we have a temp generator.

**Epidemic** · November 5th, 2012, 03:50 PM

Originally Posted by MTAtech

Haven't posted due to lack of electricity. I had flooding where it never did in 50 years. Still don't have power and heat and HW is because we have a temp generator.

yay government

Now multiply the scope of the damage by 100 and imagine what katrina recovery was like. Like i have said before 90% of katrina problems were because of the scale of and depth of the devastation, in conjuction with the state and local problems. Way down the list is FEMA screwups.

**MTAtech** · November 6th, 2012, 05:00 PM

Originally Posted by Epidemic

yay government

Now multiply the scope of the damage by 100 and imagine what katrina recovery was like. Like i have said before 90% of katrina problems were because of the scale of and depth of the devastation, in conjuction with the state and local problems. Way down the list is FEMA screwups.

I've seen plenty of devastation, especially in Long Beach. The surge was unimaginable.

**pickel** · November 6th, 2012, 08:05 PM

Originally Posted by MTAtech

I've seen plenty of devastation, especially in Long Beach. The surge was unimaginable.

When I was in high school, we all went down to the beach in Far Rockaway ( beach 16th street) when Donna hit. We had to leave when the winds started gusting @ 60 mph. The sand beat us really bad.
Nothing like Sandy though.

**MegalosSkylaki** · November 6th, 2012, 08:33 PM

BREAKING NEWS:

'nother Northester in Sandy Territory coming Wednesday and Thursday.!

ARRGGHH !

[DOOG goes looking for X-L Tail-Warmer ]

OK I'm back...preparedness?...Hmmmm..stuff still in summer storage

You guys got a 3d fax machine?

**MegalosSkylaki** · November 6th, 2012, 08:39 PM

Originally Posted by MTAtech

Haven't posted due to lack of electricity. I had flooding where it never did in 50 years. Still don't have power and heat and HW is because we have a temp generator.

Hmmmmm..remember the chiily scenes of winter der DOOG posted?

DOOG would send his 10,000 FerretZ to da Rescue, but they wisely stayed in CA...nevermind the Law against them.

Be wary of tomorrow and Thursday....'nother nor'ester on way--errr, supposedly.. maybe snow...

Nor'easter to Target Sandy-Battered Northeast - weather.com

Time to relocate, Mr. MTAtech?

**MegalosSkylaki** · November 7th, 2012, 10:49 PM

Snow in NYC..Winter Storm Athena....

Hurricaine followed by Snow??

And the FerretZ are out in CA?
What did they know that I didn't know?
Are FerretZ smarter than DooGs?

Is this an anomaly caused bu Global Warming--regardless by what Global Warming is caused by?

MegalosSkylaki

**MegalosSkylaki** · November 28th, 2012, 01:26 PM

Manhattan goes super-bonkers with Christmas shoppers from here on in...even walking myself is tough and our beloved Mayor--who failing to convince the State Legislature to impose "density pricing" on Manhattan for cars entering the borough-- decided to discourage motorist by taking away driving lanes by converting them to bus lanes on one side and bicycle lanes on the other. Moreover, the "parking lane" was pushed over from the curb one lane and end-capped with cement islands with plants to take it also out of vehicular driving use as it used to be during Rush hours. There is a bizarre appearance to cars parallel-parked some 8-10 ft from the curb!

While not part of the vehicular reduction plane, the construction of a new subway (Metro) line on the Eastside of Manhattan has made avoidance corridor out of a major access road to the Bridges and Tunnels out Manhattan as well as further reducing vehicular space. Not happy with just the loss of three lanes on the wide avenues, he also made pedestrian malls on major cross-town streets, creating a driving hell zone in the lower two-thirds of Manhattan.

I suspect DOOG and CAAT's daze of being bicoastal will soon be over...For their part many New Yorkers--especially the taxi-drivers--are waiting for Mayor Bloomberg's third term in a two-terms-allowed town to be over, but I wonder if the Federal Government will try to intercede if a future mayor tries to restore the previous vehicular space due to impact on automobile pollution.

I don't know how call that bumper-to-bumper traffic generated by the great-space shrinkage has on pollution, but I do know that taxi rides that took 10 mins now take me 18 mins and multiplying this by a million plus riders a day, the effective number of available taxis for hire has shrunk as passengers sit in the cabs so much longer due to the reduced driving space. Perhaps the Mayor will ultimately get his way with "density pricing" and tolls will be set up on all entrances into Manhattan as an alternative to the Great Highway [err...Street] Robbery scheme.

But some of my California friends who are forced to take cabs won't come into this town after 2013 as mandated 'wheelchair (the heavy motor type) accessible cabs will phase out the SUVs that have already largely phased-out the sedans. These cabs have truck-like springs and heavy shocks on a high platform--think truck-- and are inhospitable to people who have difficulty climbing up into them or absorbing the pounding of heavy-duty truck suspension. To accommodate 250 motor-wheelchair users, the City has opted to create a disabled class out of the elderly and people with bad backs

In Florida I think they make driving easier for the locals. Here they make it tougher so going a mile cross-town by taxi in Man. can cost $30 and 45 mins. one way...about 1 1/3 mph. In the immortal words of Dirty Harry, "Swell!"

MegalosSkylaki

PS. Did I mention that the civility of drivers in California--although that has been declining in places--in not what New York drivers were ever famous for ?

**MegalosSkylaki** · December 20th, 2012, 06:47 PM

Michael Vick in New York ? Or New York-New Jersey? Or New Jersey--New York?

Are they nuts?

A day after announcing they are benching starting quarterback Mark Sanchez, the New York Jets are shopping him around, gauging trade interest around the league, according to numerous reports Wednesday.

The New York Daily News went so far as to say that Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick, who like Sanchez has fallen out of favor with his current team, would be open to coming to the Jets if Sanchez is no longer the QB. And the feeling may be mutual.

“Bring it on,” the Daily News quoted a Jets source as saying about adding Vick if he is available. “He was hit too many times [behind a subpar offensive line] the last two years.”

“Ryan loves him,” the Daily News quoted a team official as saying about head coach Rex Ryan’s feelings about Vick

From >>> NFL: New York Jets reportedly looking into trading Mark Sanchez, perhaps adding Michael Vick - NFL News | FOX Sports on MSN

Yup, getting rid of Mark Sanchez isn't a bad idea. Whose idea was it to extend his contract for 5 years at 58 million and then bring in Tim Tebow--as 3rd string ? Was there really such a big demand around the NFL for Sanchez to warrant a long-term contract extension?

Now that Sanchez is benched, who gets to play at QB?
Why Greg McElroy, not Tebow, after all the hoopla bringing him here.

Anybody think of sacking the head Coach Rex Ryan ? Or whoever makes all those player-personnel decisions like the above? Maybe Ryan, too.

What a mess this show has become.

Are they not starting Tebow because he's not as good as McElroy? Or because it would be an admission, if he plays well, that they should have played him all along? Is Management running that scared?

Now Michael Vick...