Outrage Over NYC Marathon

NewsBreakerNov 02 '12

Host @DavidBegnaud delivers breaking news and today's trending buzz in 45 seconds. NYPost.com: This is no way to get us up & running Generators should give power to people — not marathon By TARA PALMERI, LARRY CELONA, DOUG AUER and KEVIN FASICK As hundreds of thousands of Big Apple residents suffer in homes left without power by Hurricane Sandy, two massive generators are being run 24/7 in Central Park — to juice a media tent for Sunday’s New York City Marathon. And a third “backup” unit sits idle, in case one of the generators fails. The three diesel-powered generators crank out 800 kilowatts — enough to power 400 homes in ravaged areas like Staten Island, the Rockaways and downtown Manhattan. As of Friday morning, five generators sat outside of the park along with electrical stations and transformers. In addition to the generators, a food services truck dropped off hundreds of cases of water, sparking angered responses from hurricane victims. "I am from Coney Island where everything is flooded and underwater," Yelena Gomelsky, 65, said. "I live 1 block from the ocean where everything is floating. "[Seeing the generators and water] makes me feel so bad. People have no food, no water, nothing. "They should make all of these runners bring food and water to people's houses who need it. They should bring all of these generators to buildings where old people live and give them power." Joan Wacks, whose Staten Island waterfront condo was swamped with 4 feet of water, predicted authorities will still be recovering bodies when the estimated 40,000 runners from around the world hit the streets Sunday, and she called the mayor "tone deaf." "He is clueless without a paddle to the reality of what everyone else is dealing with," she said. "If there are any resources being put toward the marathon, that's wrong. I'm sorry, that's wrong." She added: "We totally understand the public relations aspect, to show everyone survived. But this is not one of those times." Since emergency executive orders have been issued, the governor, mayor — or even President Obama — could take the generators for a more important use, explained Pace University law professor Bennett Gershman. Such an emergency action would need the approval of the City Council, state Legislature or Congress. And they would have to compensate the owners of the devices. But plenty in the city wish they had taken such decisive action. After all, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie postponed Halloween for safety reasons, so Gov. Cuomo or Mayor Bloomberg should issue an executive order for lifesaving generators. Manhattah Borough Preisdent Scott Stringer voiced his opinion on Friday, saying that the city needs to recognize the suffering following "a tragedy of historic proportions."