Why doesn't the New York Marathon employ RENT-A-COPS at $10/hour and eliminate the police union & city sanitation bribes

I'd like to bid on the NY Marathon security contract. I'll supply 1,000 Mexican relatives of Alberto Salazar with legal work permits, dual 12 inch Pepper Spray aerosol cans, 3-G iPhones with video cameras.

er.. wrote:

Keith Stone wrote:

Simple, rent-a-cops can't arbitrarily stop traffic. So if NYRR wanted to hold an illegal event on public streets, they could do as you say, otherwise it's a pretty stupid idea.

Well traffic can probably be stopped if city workers put up barricades and 'road closed' signs and then walk away for the day. But if you want enforcement, and more importantly, someone to maintain the peace on public property, then you need police.

that is completely false. streets are closed every day in manhattan in conjunction with the 2nd ave subway construction by lowly construction workers. you don't need a cop to erect a barricade on a street and not let anyone past it.

the idea that only NYPD are qualified to act as crossing guards and barricade guarders on most of the marathon route is pure poppycock. it would be MUCH cheaper to hire rent-a-guarders and replace most of the cops on the route who are getting paid overtime to just stand there and occasionally tell spectators to step back.

Would any NYRR's like to 'splain it to me?

nadarism wrote:

that is completely false. streets are closed every day in manhattan in conjunction with the 2nd ave subway construction by lowly construction workers. you don't need a cop to erect a barricade on a street and not let anyone past it.

the idea that only NYPD are qualified to act as crossing guards and barricade guarders on most of the marathon route is pure poppycock. it would be MUCH cheaper to hire rent-a-guarders and replace most of the cops on the route who are getting paid overtime to just stand there and occasionally tell spectators to step back.

You really don't see the difference between authorized construction workers closing 2nd avenue for a government-funded and directed project and closing 26 miles of public roadway for a private event for tens of thousands of runners and hundreds of thousands of spectators?

i think you missed the point but that's ok as you appear to have difficulty with issue spotting. i have absolutely no idea why you mention that the 2nd ave subway is government-funded and directed. would it matter if it were privately funded? no. streets get closed all the time in nyc without cops for non-government funded activities (eg, private construction, movie filming or street fairs).

getting back to the point at hand, which so clearly flew over your head, the notion that only cops can close streets -- and therefore must be hired exclusively at overtime pay by the nyrr to close and guard streets for the marathon -- is patently false. we all would be better off (except the cops getting paid overtime to do their regular jobs) if rent-a-guards were hired to do this most basic and easy job for the marathon.

I'm not from NYRR, and it's already been explained to you.

There are plenty of marathons that residents can compete in. It is not a monopoly because consumers have the option to take their money to a different marathon. That the race is the only one through the 5 Burroughs is a moot point. It's a differentiation of the same product (putting on a marathon road race), not a different product.

They should lose their non-profit status.

Why, because you say so?

If they qualify under the provisions set forth in Section 501(c)(3), then they have the right to non-profit status. Please highlight which part of that code they have violated.

UC Davis Police Department wrote:

I'd like to bid on the NY Marathon security contract. I'll supply 1,000 Mexican relatives of Alberto Salazar with legal work permits, dual 12 inch Pepper Spray aerosol cans, 3-G iPhones with video cameras.

You might do even better with his Cuban reletives.

Dullard Mack wrote:

I'm not from NYRR, and it's already been explained to you.

There are plenty of marathons that residents can compete in. It is not a monopoly because consumers have the option to take their money to a different marathon. That the race is the only one through the 5 Burroughs is a moot point. It's a differentiation of the same product (putting on a marathon road race), not a different product.

So, what exactly is wrong about complaining about a product? Can consumers not complain about their new iPhone because they could get a land line if they wanted? Expressing ones thoughts about a product, negotiating with the seller, is an integral part of a free market. Maybe they didn't let people complain in the USSR, but this is America.

Concerned Citizen wrote:

So, what exactly is wrong about complaining about a product? Can consumers not complain about their new iPhone because they could get a land line if they wanted? Expressing ones thoughts about a product, negotiating with the seller, is an integral part of a free market. Maybe they didn't let people complain in the USSR, but this is America.

Who said consumers can't complain?

Just because someone points out the idiocy of claiming the marathon is a monopoly and should have its entry fee regulated doesn't mean one can't complain.

But given the overwhelming demand for race numbers and the numerous alternative marathon offerings, ultimately the consumer can exercise their right to take their entry fee (or cell phone purchase) to the vendor they most approve of.

1,000 Mexican relatives of Alberto Salazar

Alberto parks his 1962 Chevy Impala on the lawn at his house which has 24 undocumented day laborers, babies, teenage moms, and gang bangers, stuffed into two bedrooms. I seen it myself.