Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Appears Live on ABC 7

November 3, 2019

Ryan Field: Mr. Mayor, even for a city like New York, putting on an event of this size – no small feat – what kind of steps go into making it safe not only for the 52,000 runners, but for the 1 million spectators that line the course today?

Mayor Bill de Blasio: It begins with prayer for weather like this so – I mean, we literally have a perfect marathon day. That’s a blessing. But yeah, this is a year of preparation. Every year, we go right to it, the best police force in the world providing the protection. We have our ambulances, FDNY, everywhere to make sure people are safe, and then a huge amount of logistics – our Transportation folks, our Parks folks, think about what it takes – all five boroughs of New York City – to make sure this happens for over 50,000 runners. And as you said, there’s going to be more than a million people. And one thing New Yorkers love is cheering on folks who are running in this marathon, whether it’s their friends, their family, or just people they’ve never met before but they’re just proud of. It’s a beautiful day in this city.

Field: Yeah, one of the best days on the calendar to be sure. Talk about some of the distinctive parts along the course that really make this course a quintessential New York event.

Mayor: Beginning with the extraordinary Verrazzano Bridge and starting at  such a monumental fashion, and then going through just everyday neighborhoods – like my neighborhood in Brooklyn, Park Slope, is just people run through it, you look down the block and there’s like thousands of runners going by – everyday neighborhoods and then people feeling that pulse at the finish line, that energy going through the park, I mean it literally gives you the fullness of everything great about New York City, and the love and the enthusiasm that New Yorkers feel. We’ve got 129 countries represented, this is literally the whole world coming together, and I have to say, in harmony – it’s a beautiful day.

Field: Enjoy the race today, Mr. Mayor.

Mayor: You enjoy it as well, it’s going to be great.