Mayor under fire for his marathon decision

— A symbol of resilience, or tactless and ill-timed? 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.

“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.”

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.

But hard-hit businesses backed the mayor. Dave Jaffares, who tends bar at Mullanes Bar & Grill, said they usually make $2,000 to $3,000 more on marathon day. The bar is along the marathon route in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

“It needs to happen. The marathon is coming at a great time. It gets people back into the idea that we are New York,” said Jaffares. “This is what we do, we do a marathon every year. Nothing stops us.”

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.