NEW YORK, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) - The New York City Marathon will not take place as planned on Sunday, a New York city official said Friday.

City officials and the organizers of the marathon have been under pressure to cancel the event as the Northeast struggles to recover from heavy flooding and power outages caused by superstorm Sandy.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg confirmed the cancellation in a statement, saying: "We would not want a cloud to hang over the race or its participants, and so we have decided to cancel it."