New surface has runners talking records
NEW YORK — One man bent over with a paint brush in hand, touching up the white lines along the runway to a jumping pit. Another worker wore a mask and circled the banked, brown track on the third floor of this big brick building, laying a chemical where the lane lines were about to be drawn. “I love this part of the year when we open the door,” said Dr. Norb Sander, standing amid the sprint and hurdles lanes on the infield at the New Balance Track & Field Center at The Armory in northern Manhattan. “I sit in the office and I can hear the pitter-patter of feet coming up, thousands of kids. I say, ‘Here they come. This is great.’ ” This place and this sport are Sander’s passions. The 71-year-old Armory Foundation executive director/City Island internist/Hastings resident pushed for its reopening 20 years ago as a track and field facility, and now it is the premier indoor venue in the area, hosting more than 100 meets a year, including the Millrose Games. more
