Among the many reasons that I am reflexively suspicious of any politician who implies that he can save the world is that such instincts tend to see real local concerns ignored in favor of the nonsensical, the faux-global, and the fashionable. And there are few politicians more emblematic of this disposition than New York City’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg.
Staten Island is hurting badly; over 100 homes have burned to the ground in Queens; temperatures are dropping and food is running scarce; and hospitals have been evacuated because they have no power. The city is, to put it mildly, in bad shape. But worry not, for the NYC Marathon will go ahead as planned. Per the New York Post:
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, 11 generators sat outside of the park and a food services truck dropped off hundreds of cases of water, sparking angered responses from hurricane victims.
They have eleven generators. Why not put a fashion show on while they’re at it?
Meanwhile, sources told The Post precious city resources were also being diverted to prepare for the marathon, including more than a dozen NYPD flatbed trucks taken from disaster-relief work at sites including Breezy Point, Queens, where more than 100 homes burned to the ground.
The trucks, normally used to carry metal barricades for parades and other events, had been transporting residents hard hit by the storm.
But they’re all being recalled to get cleaned up so they can bring the barriers that will line the route of the marathon, a police source said.
“People could still use our help,” the source said. “We’re serving a purpose shuttling them back and forth.”
Plans call for up to 100 cops from all around the city to deploy the barricades today.
“You know what this is about? This is all so Bloomberg can stand at the finish line Sunday and tell the world we bounced back,” the source said.
“We”?
The rest here.