NEW YORK – Under growing pressure with thousands still shivering from Sandy, the New York City Marathon was canceled Friday by Mayor Michael Bloomberg after mounting criticism that this was not the time for a race.

With the death toll in the city at 39 and power not yet fully restored, many New Yorkers had recoiled at the prospect of police officers being assigned to protect a marathon, storm victims being evicted from hotels to make way for runners, and big generators humming along at the finish-line tents in Central Park.

Around 47,500 runners – 30,000 of them from outside New York – had been expected to take part in the 26.2-mile event Sunday, with more than 1 million spectators usually lining the route. The world's largest marathon had been scheduled to start in Staten Island, one of the storm's hardest-hit places.