By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
BATTERY PARK CITY — The NYC Half-Marathon will go ahead as planned in March, despite objections from Battery Park City residents, organizers said this week.
Residents are worried about the street closures, crowd-control barriers and rows of portable toilets that the March 20 race will bring to northern Battery Park City, and they hoped to convince the New York Road Runners to move it somewhere else.
But it was too late to the change the route of the race, which ends at Chambers Street and directs runners through Battery Park City to a celebration in North Cove, said Peter Ciaccia, a senior vice president at New York Road Runners.
"We were not aware of any complaints the community had [until recently]," Ciaccia, who is organizing the race, told residents at a Community Board 1 meeting Tuesday.
Ciaccia said he was open to making changes for next year’s race and would start meeting with the community earlier next time.
New York Road Runners used the proceeds from the race to fund fitness programs for low-income students in the city, Ciaccia said.
Battery Park City residents are still upset about the race, which will flood the neighborhood with 10,000 runners, eliminate parking and shut down parts of five streets for the entire weekend. Last year’s race, on the same route, provoked many complaints from people who said they had trouble leaving their home and navigating the neighborhood.
"The neighborhood is going to be shut down pretty much for the whole weekend," said Bill Love, a member of CB1’s Battery Park City Committee. "[Last year], everyone was horrified."
Love and others suggested the race end at Pier 25 or Pier 40 instead, however those spaces were not big enough, Ciaccia said.
Some Battery Park City residents said Tuesday that they were happy to host the event in their neighborhood.
"It’s good to have this type of event in the city," said Bob Townley, a CB1 member who lives near the race’s finish line.
Paul Nicaj, a managing partner at Battery Gardens restaurant, added that the race boosted his business.
"Please allow this event to happen," Nicaj said.
The community board ultimately voted 20 to 13 to express their "strong disappointment" in New York Road Runners’ lack of planning and outreach.
"We’re not against this type of event," Love said. "It’s about the impact on the community."
