"To host the New York City Marathon in the middle of what is complete devastation and a crisis in parts of this city is just wrong," said City Councilman Domenic Recchia, whose south Brooklyn district includes Coney Island and other areas that suffered heavy damage.

Bloomberg brushed aside criticism Thursday that the marathon will direct crucial resources away from recovery efforts, saying electricity will be restored by race day, thus freeing up police who are currently manning intersections where the traffic signals and electricity have gone out.

Race Director Mary Wittenberg said organizers are hiring private buses to take runners to and from the marathon, rather than straining resources better used elsewhere

"This city is a city where we have to go on," Bloomberg said Wednesday.

Recchia said people in Coney Island and the neighborhoods of Sea Gate and Brighton Beach can't move on yet because they have no food, water, or electricity. Residents on Staten Island pleaded Wednesday for gas, food, and clothes. One lady standing outside damaged homes said she had eaten one slice of pizza in the past two days.

Holding the race so soon after the storm is "a slap in the face to all the people who have lost so much," wrote Denice Calautti on Facebook.

"Let's worry about the actual residents first before we worry about the marathon," wrote Facebook user Jamie Gregory. "The marathon is only going to create extra chaos that is not needed at this time. The city has been through enough. Give them time to get back on their feet."

One Staten Island hotel owner said his rooms would be open to New Yorkers displaced by the storm first, before accommodating runners from out of town.

"We're planning to make sure that the people that are here and our neighbors that have no place to go have a place to stay here," said Richard Nicotra, owner of Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton Inn Suites on the west end of the island.

Nicotra said he has spoken with marathon organizers and agreed to offering a ballroom to house some runners.

"We're not saying to cancel the marathon, but maybe they could have postponed it," he said.

U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm, who represents Staten Island and Brooklyn, said the city has its priorities wrong.

"We're still pulling bodies out of the water and the mayor is worried about marathon runners and returning to life as normal," Grimm said in a statement. "The Verrazano Bridge should be used for getting fuel and food in to Staten Island, not getting runners out. Police resources would be best allocated to prevent looting and in rescue and recovery operations."

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/02/us/sandy-nyc-marathon/index.html?hpt=hp_t1