I'm surprised that you didn't see right through this.

This would be the perfect definition of heresay. In fact, I'll bet the author probably made it up for effect.

I lived on Staten Island. Graduated from HS there.:)

The guy at 5:28 of this clip (Morning Joe today --"Sandy's aftermath, staten Island"... clip) makes a point imo.
They're pumping out the Battery Tunnel for a for a marathon. We're pulling bodies out of the water. See the disconnect here??

Morning Joe

"Sand's aftermath

The Marathon? Bloomberg tells the prez to stay out of town & go see Christie then says ok to the runners and their big money corp sponsors?
S'pose his endorsment of Obama was a peace offering after his snub? :rolleyes:;) He scored no points on the Island with this call.

:rolleyes:

If you had checked the storyline, you might have found this:

SI Hotel Owner Refuses To Evict Evacuees To Honor Marathon Runners' Reservations - NY1.com

from the link below, an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 marathoners/tourists had hotel reservations PRIOR to hurricane Sandy. As a result, the hotels have a legal dilemma on their hands, honor the original reservation contract or dishonor it so they can rent rooms to storm victims.

Marathon Backlash Hits TwitterMeanwhile, the city's promises to use private transportation for the marathon haven't placated some irate citizens. Some people have taken to Twitter to vent their anger about the marathon and its impact on storm survivors.
Some survivors without power have been holed up in area hotels. Still, they can't get additional reservations because many hotels rooms previously were booked months in advance by runners, scheduled to participate in the race. (Read more: Available: NY Hotel Room, No Power for $400 a Night)
"#Disgraceful," tweeted one Twitter user.

Hotels are obliged to honor legitimate reservations — whether you're a stranded storm survivor or marathon runner. "If a guest has a legitimate reservation, you've got an obligation," said William Carroll, senior lecturer at Cornell University.
But there's nothing preventing hotels from proactively contacting those with reservations, who have yet to arrive, to confirm their travel plans, said Carroll, who is also a senior hotel and lodging analyst for market research firm PhoCusWright.
As the storm's aftermath continues, many travelers probably won't be able to get into New York City this weekend.


NYC Marathon Proceeds as Backlash Mounts - CNBC

It's difficult to imagine that a marathoner would deny a room to someone displaced from their home. That said, there are all kinds of people in the world.

It's not the marathoners -- it's the hotels telling people that rooms were pre-booked months ago, and they need to check out.

Those folks are hurting.........no doubt about it.

However, nobody is pumping out the Battery Tunnel for a marathon. The route goes nowhere near that tunnel. They are pumping out the tunnel to restore a critical transportation path from Brooklyn to lower Manhattan.

The folks on Staten Island need support from the Red Cross and the Feds with regard to food and water and the support from ConEd with regard to electric. The police cannot do much of anything for them.

The requirements for the Marathon are quite different than the needs of those folks. From the outside you can make a judgment that the resources must go to one or the other. But, you'd likely be in error.

You are assuming that all marathoners have a heart. They have been training for this race all year and for some, not even a hurricane is going to get in the way of their run. No doubt, there are many marathoners who will not run so as to conserve resources for storm victims; OTH, there will be those that take a "Me First, everyone else is second" attitude. The legal fact is that prior hotel reservations have priority. This presents a moral and legal problem for the hotels.

No easy answers........

Yes, there are good and bad in ALL groups of people.

I wonder if a reservation is a legally binding agreement?

Is there any recourse to the hotel if they don't honor a reservation? "Sorry, no room for you"??

I have personally experienced being kicked out of a hotel because of a prior reservation. A knock on the door along with the announcement that the room must be vacant by 11:00 AM.

That appears to be a question for the legal minds. Airlines overbook all the time, while hotels/motels appear to be a different situation. Most hotel owners/management do not want to have the public reputation of denying a traveler a legitimate paid reservation. Especially in today's age of trip advisor, yelp, etc etc where bad news travels INSTANTLY.

If the hotel rooms were booked long-term by the people who lost their homes, wonder if NYC landlord-tenant law would come into play.