STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- "Postpone the NYC Marathon."

That is the subject line of more than 100 e-mails -- all the same form letter-style -- received by the Advance since

.

The

are not just from Staten Islanders, but from residents throughout the state and from New Jersey: Manhattan; Viola, N.Y.; Highland Mills, N.Y., and Maywood, N.J.

They are also coming from those around the country, from places like Austin, Texas; Forest City, Pa., and the most recent from Myrtle Beach, S.C.

A

asks: Is Marathon Sunday an insult to those suffering and dead on Staten Island and elsewhere?

The answer: A resounding yes.

Of the 2,727 people responding to the poll, 51.8 percent -- or 1,415 voters -- called holding the marathon a disgrace.

to cancel the marathon, saying that to hold it, with its staging are on Staten Island, would be "crazy, asinine."

"Do you realize how many police officers you need for a marathon? There are people looting stores on Midland Avenue. There is looting taking place in the homes on the South Shore that were destroyed. That is where we need the police."

But Bloomberg insists the marathon will not redirect focus from recovery efforts on Staten Island or throughout the city because he expects power in downtown Manhattan to be restored, free many of the police officers who are working there to direct traffic and otherwise deal with the outage.

Below is the text of the e-mail. Sign up on

.

Councilman Vincent Gentile' States: The decision to go ahead with the marathon on Sunday is being cast as a symbol of the city's resolve but part of our resilience is our commitment to recovery. There are still many New Yorkers who are devastated - people who have lost everything - they are living in rubble, without heat and without power. With some neighborhoods are still smoldering, I think postponing the marathon would be a better option.

To all the people that say it is foolish to postpone the Marathon Please read below: Please tell me where are we going to put the tens of thousand runners? They don't fly in and out the same day! The Hotels, food and Gas should be saved for all of our families who lost everything!

The traffic that it will bring into Staten Island will hinder rescue efforts. 1st responders are still pulling bodies from houses right next to the place where the Marathon kicks off!!

Yes they will donate some money to those affected by Hurricane Sandy but what about the resources they will use? What about the closure of the bridge? What about the thousands of cops and medics that have to be on standby?

The street closures? The Sanitation that has to clean up after them? Don't you think those resources will be better directed helping the parents who are still looking for their children and vice-versa?

Do you think that a bunch of people jogging through the 5 boroughs will drown out the sorrow of lost ones they have?

It won't make anyone feel better!! Councilman Vincent Gentile Andrew Lanza and other Staten Island Elected Officals are with us on this one. Please tell me How this is Foolish. Foolish is taking the 1st responders away from people finding their loved one to wait around for someone to pass out from dehydration.

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