'The city is talking about getting ready for the marathon… we're pulling bodies out of the water': Congressman lashes out at New York officials for pushing ahead with event

• Bloomberg insists city is prepared to host marathon and offer support to victims, comparing moment to city's resilience after 9/11
• But New York residents are angry that emergency services are diverted towards Sunday's marathon
• Generators could be used to provide power for homes left without electricity for four days

By Eddie Wrenn and Beth Stebner

PUBLISHED: 05:57 EST, 2 November 2012 | UPDATED: 16:00 EST, 2 November 2012

Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are still suffering black-outs, with wide swathes of the city still without electricity.

But preparations were underway today for Sunday's New York Marathon, which is still going ahead despite the widespread devastation landed on the city.

Residents of flood-hit areas of the city - many of whom still have no power - reacted with anger today after it emerged race organisers have installed two emergency generators, as well as a back-up, to house the media in Staten Island.

The three generators could provide power for 400 homes - and the revelation has prompted outrage in a city which, in parts, has suffered four nights without heat or electricity.

In Central Park today...

Ready for action: The New York Marathon will still go on despite the city's widespread devastation

In Staten Island today...

The other side: Dulce Espino (left) and Viridiana Cruz weep in their Staten Island neighborhood where many houses were completely destroyed

Salvaging memories: Members of the Traina family sort through photographs and other personal items that they were salvaging from their home which was completely destroyed by flood water storm surge from Hurricane Sandy on Staten Island

 

TODAY'S POLL  

Should the New York marathon go ahead, despite thousands still suffering black-outs?

  Yes

  No

VOTE

POLL RESULTS  

 

 Close

All polls Click to view yesterday's poll results

At a news conference Friday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended his decision to go ahead with the marathon as a way to raise money for the city and boost morale less than a week after Sandy knocked out power and left a death toll of nearly 100 people.

He noted that his predecessor, Rudolph Giuliani, went ahead with the New York Marathon two months after 9/11.

‘If you go back to 9/11, Rudy made the right decision in those days to run the marathon and pull people together,' Bloomberg said.

The mayor added that the marathon's organizers are ‘running this race to help New York City, and the donations from all the runners in the club will be a great help for our relief efforts.’

Earlier this week, the mayor said the race wouldn't siphon off resources from the storm recovery, noting electricity is expected to be restored to all of Manhattan by race day, freeing up ‘an enormous number of police.’

Adding to the polarizing emotions, Fox Business’ Charles Gasparino sensationally tweeted this afternoon that he heard the marathon could be cancelled.’

‘Wall street execs say NYC marathon CANCELLED,’ he wrote Friday afternoon, later tweeting: ‘Personally I hope those traders are wrong about the marathon and wrong about Obama beating Romney. She (sic) shall see.’

Following the two explosive tweets, many people responded negatively to him. ‘Just that you put that sort of cr** rumor in a tweet is a reason not to follow you,’ wrote one.’

Gasparino fired back: ‘I cant help it if ur (sic) too dumb not to ready EXACTLY what I said.’

A spokesperson for ING told MailOnline that she was unaware there were rumors that the marathon could be canceled.

Everything lost: Two women embrace outside a home destroyed by storm surge flooding on the south side of hard-hit Staten Island in New York City following Hurricane Sandy

Marathon material? Mayor Michael Bloomberg tours a storm damaged area of Tottenville in Staten Island

Race is on: The Mayor insists the Marathon will not interfere with the recovery of the city

Carnage: Mounds of debris pile up in the street in the heavily damaged Rockaway neighborhood

Destructive tides: A large section of the iconic Queens boardwalk was washed away

A front loader moves debris in Rockaway neighborhood: Most major bridges have reopened but will require three occupants in the vehicle to pass

The New York Road Runners, which partners with ING for each race, could not immediately be reached.

personally i hope those traders are wrong abt the marathon and wrong abt obama beating romney. she shall see...

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) November 2, 2012

Wall street execs say nyc marathon CANCELLED more on fbn@322

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) November 2, 2012

Business owner Paul Wilson agrees with Bloomberg’s desire to continue with the marathon. Wilson, who owns Bar East on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, said the weekend after the superstorm ‘the perfect time to have it.’

He said: ‘I don’t think the timing could have been better.’

Runners along the 26.2-mile course pass right next to Wilson’s bar.

The course runs from the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge on hard-hit Staten Island to Central Park, sending runners through all five boroughs.

The course will not be changed, since there was little damage along the route.The marathon is now proving a divisive topic in New York - with many calling for the event to be cancelled.

Even today, as organisers put finishing touches to the finish line, people at the start line in Staten Island were crying as they saw their devastated neighborhood.

Residents - some of whom have had to wade through local dumpsters to find food and supplies - are demanding to know why the power is not being used to help those in desperate need.

The third generator will not even be in use unless there is an emergency - but given the city's situation, it suggests the organisers' definition of emergency is different to that of the residents.

Though officials in the storm-ravaged tri-state area say that plans to go ahead with the New York won’t affect recovery efforts, they appear to be in the minority.

Broken childhood: A child's doll sits amid debris left by Hurricane Sandy on the south side of hard-hit Staten Island

Gathering belongings: Christopher Traina tries to salvage some personal items from the basement of his parent's home which was destroyed in Staten Island

Picking up the pieces: Kate Traina looks at a strip of photographic negatives as she joined other family members as they were salvaging items

Congressman Michael Grimm, whose district includes the devastated borough of Staten Island, was one of several prominent politicians who today voiced his fury that the annual race is going ahead, even while many on the island are without water, food, and electricity.

‘There’s no question I’m angry about it,’ the representative said.

‘The city of New York is talking about getting water out of the Battery Tunnel and getting ready for the marathon. We’re pulling bodies out of the water.’

Washed ashore: A boat is washed up and left on South Beach in Staten Island after the Superstorm

Broken homes: Houses destroyed in South Beach, Staten Island, from the storm

Streets flooded: The roads of South Beach in Staten Island were left in ruins

The aftermath: A limousine is washed away and seen on top of another vehicle in South Beach, Staten Island, after Sandy hit

Speaking with the TODAY show, Rep Grimm, who represents the 13th District of New York, said that residents of the borough are barely coping in the wake of Sandy, and the last thing on their minds is a race.

‘There are those walking the street and they seem almost hopeless,’ he said. ‘They’ve lost everything and there’s nowhere for them to go.'

Powered up: The generators to power the media tent for the New York Marathon could light up 400 New York's homes

More than 100 homes were destroyed in Breezy Point, Queens: Flatbed trucks originally helping in rescue operations have now been sent to help prepare for the marathon

Hauled away: Garbage men disposed dozens of shopping carts full of ruined goods on Wednesday at the Fairway supermarket in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York

Nevertheless, the Mayor's office said: ‘Our recover efforts are ongoing and none of those will be impacted by the marathon. No resources will be diverted.’

'There are people right now that have no heat who have no food and are sitting in the dark.

'To say that we have enough resources just isn’t accurate. There’s a lot of unanswered questions. We feel that no one understands us.'

Staten Island Councilman James Oddo echoed Rep Grimm’s anger.

He said: 'The notion of diverting even one police officer, one first responder, one asset away from this carnage, is beyond irrational,’ he told the Daily News.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg saw none of the damage or power outtages as insurmountable, and defended the decision to hold the race, insisting resources wouldn't be diverted from storm victims.

He noted at a news conference on Thursday that electricity was expected to be restored to all of Manhattan by race day, freeing up ‘up an enormous number of police.’

‘This city is a city where we have to go on,’ he said.

But many New Yorkers don’t feel that accurately reflects the current situation.

A petition on Change.org asks Bloomberg and other officials to postpone the ING Marathon until the spring of next year.

‘Police, fire, and other emergency services should not be diverted to the Marathon during this time of crisis,’ the petition reads. ‘This event is always a positive event and it should not be turned into a hugely negative drain on city resources.’

Some critics are also questioning whether the marathon should go ahead at all.

As the city is under emergency executive orders, the governor, mayor or even the President could order that the generators be used for more humanitarian reasons, the New York Post reports.

With parts of the city expected to be without power for a week, the Post also reports that other valuable resources have been sent to help prepare for Sunday's marathon, including more than a dozen police flatbed trucks, which were previous working at disaster points.

Still a long way to go: A woman walks along a sidewalk as debris from floodwater-damaged buildings is piled in the streets in Hoboken, New Jersey

Postman Mike Conroy delivers the mail to a pharmacy damaged by floodwaters in Hoboken, New Jersey

While officials are planning for a marathon, residents are still trying to figure out how to get their phones charged

Search continues: Julie Traina tries to recover some personal items from the destroyed home of her parents in Staten Island

Home destroyed: James Traina climbs over the remains of his parent's house which was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy in Staten Island

Councilwoman Margaret Chin of Chinatown told The Post how she requested an emergency generator to pump water to stranded elderly residents.

But she says she was told by the Office of Emergency Management that 'there are other priorities'.

Asked about the criticism from politicians, New York Road Runners President Mary Wittenberg said a city going through a crisis must find the right time to move forward. She believes Sunday can be that day.

‘It's hard in these moments to know what's best to do,’ she told the Associated Press. ‘The city believes this is best to do right now.’

The marathon brings an estimated $340million into the city. Organizers will also use it as a backdrop to raise money for recovery efforts. Race organizer NYRR will donate $1million to the fund and said more than $1.5million in pledges already had been secured from sponsors.

The Post reports that the Hilton Garden Inn will not honour reservations from marathon runners if it means removing refugees of Sandy.

The general manager Frank Sanchez said: 'While we understand they have reservations, we know they are going back to their regular lives in two days. Our neighbors will not have that opportunity.'

The organisers have allegedly paid $37,500 simply for the licence to run the generators.

Road Runners spokesman Richard Finn told the Post: 'These are our private generators. We are not draining any resources from the city’s plan to recover.'

Poor sanitation: A man rinses his hands in flood water while cleaning out a house in a hard-hit neighbor hood in Staten Island

Carnage: The devastation left by Super Storm Sandy at Breezy Point, Queens, New York

In an editorial, the New York Daily News said: 'Running the NYC Marathon on Sunday through the five boroughs is not what this city needs.

'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.'

Video: Mayor Bloomberg announces the marathon will still take place - watch the mayor speak and see reactions from New Yorkers

NBC: 'New York should postpone the marathon'

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy