New York City Marathon: should the race take place after Sandy?

Should the New York City Marathon be held this Sunday? Mayor Bloomberg says it is definitely going ahead as planned. He thinks the five boroughs of the city can handle the strain even as they clean up the debris of Hurricane Sandy. But he has been attacked by many, including residents of Staten Island, where the race is due to begin and which has borne the brunt of New York's suffering after Sandy.

Here are the pros and cons of staging the race... let us know what you think in the comments section.

The pros...

1. "It's a great event for New York," says Bloomberg. The PR implications of hosting a marathon less than a week after being hammered by a super storm are enormous. More than anything, this would say to the world that New York is a city than can't be beat. The message to investors would be clear: Your money is safe with us. We are superhuman.

2. "An awful lot of small businesses depend on these people," says the mayor. He points out that it would be a significant boost to the economy.

3. Tens of thousands of people have come from around the world to run. They would be very disappointed if the race was cancelled.

4. The city expects (or hopes?) that by Sunday most of its power will be back, if not all of it. So why not let the runners run? Although just in case we still have power outages, the Mayor might need to put a deadline on the slower guys. You can't run or walk all night.

5. It will give New Yorkers something to celebrate. Many of us have been stuck indoors – let's come together as a city and cheer each other on.

6. It's a great activity for the kids. No school for a week has had parents climbing the walls. A family marathon-watching outing is free and gets the kids outside. Take them to one of the cheering zones and let them scream their heads off for a couple of hours. Scream along with them. At this point you probably need to.

7. We should hold it in memory of those who died. Bloomberg says you've got to believe they would want us to hold it. His exact words were: "They would want us to have an economy and have a city go on for those that they left behind."

8. The marathon brings $340m to the city. We could use it, even if a fair amount of it goes to organizing the marathon itself. This year, organizing the marathon and cleaning up from Sandy amount to the same thing.

The cons...

1. The marathon will take police, EMS and community man power away from a city that is still devastated by Sandy. Schools and hospitals are uninhabitable, not to mention a vast number of homes, shops and businesses. Our priority should be on using all our resources on getting them back to normal.

2. Tens of thousands of runners won't have been able to get here – due to the entire transportation system having been brought to a halt for several days during the storm. They are already disappointed.

3. More small businesses have been affected by Sandy than will be affected by the marathon. They should take priority.

4. We have no idea if power will be back up across New York by Sunday. Marathon organizers describe mile signs and clocks being posted every mile. Kilometer signs and clocks are posted every five kilometers. Timing mats are located at the start, every 5K (3.1 miles) to 40K, the half-marathon (13.1 miles) and every mile beginning at mile eight, and the finish. There are video checkpoints along the course. All of this requires sustained power over 26 miles. Will it be there?

5. The mayor and the MTA have spoken about the dramatic damage to the subway system. The subway is the crucial mode of transport for both runners and watchers. It is unlikely to be fully operational within the next three days.

6. The early stages of the marathon are in Staten Island and south-west Brooklyn, which sustained significant damage during the hurricane. Downed trees and electrical lines continue to be a problem. There was intensive flooding, the effects of which may not be known until thousands of people pound over the ground on Sunday.

7. Runners must pick up their numbers at the Javits Center on the far west of Manhattan. Good luck getting there.

8. The race ends in Central Park, which is still closed. The Central Park Conservancy announced that the park has sustained major damage to 250 trees – this number does not include trees in the interior of the park, where the marathon finish line is. The Conservancy hasn't been able to get in there yet. Mayor Bloomberg has consistently told New Yorkers to stay out of all city parks until further notice, for their own safety. At best, he says he hopes to open the parks in time for the weekend. That is not a lot of time to make Central Park safe.

9. New York City employees have been working round the clock for the past few days and are exhausted. They still have an enormous amount to do. Is it fair to place such an extra load upon them? Will they be able to handle it?

So what do you think? Should we hold the marathon or give it a rest for the year? Post your comments below.