Mayor Mike pulled the plug on the 2012 New York City Marathon yesterday, only hours after the The Post revealed that critical resources — including powerful electrical generators — were being committed to the race instead of to the city’s massive storm-recovery needs
Mayoral aide Howard Wolfson announced that “all assets” previously earmarked for the race “will be redeployed to people who need it.”
Beginning, we trust, at first light today.
These must include, without question, the 31 generators previously designated for the race; they now must go to Staten Island, to the Rockaways, and to all the other devastated parts of the city.
Plus all the food, all the port-a-johns, and all the bottled water and energy drinks stockpiled for the event.
It’s all needed — the generators especially, to provide power to buildings where the very young and the very old are without lights or food.
Where gasoline needs to be pumped.
Where dark, dangerous streets need light.
“It is clear that [the race] has become the source of controversy and division,” Bloomberg said yesterday. “We would not want a cloud to hang over the race or its participants, and so we have decided to cancel it.”
But he had no choice.
Especially after he scoffed at the idea that generators like the ones The Post discovered in Central Park waiting to power up a marathon media tent could be more usefully deployed elsewhere.
“You just [can’t] bring in a generator and plug it in,” he claimed.
Turns out that yes, you can.
All in all, the generators committed to the event can provide enough electricity to power more than 1,000 homes!
Clearly, the mayor didn’t enjoy seeing pictures of a couple of them published on the front page of yesterday’s Post.
Just as clearly, New Yorkers appreciated the information. Glad to be of service.
Now, Bloomberg needs to grab a windbreaker and do some wingtips-on-the-ground touring of his storm-wracked outer boroughs — as per Chris Christie.
It would be good for the mayor’s Manhattan-centric soul.
Bloomberg did the right thing yesterday.
Time for follow-through.