By most public accounts, Dr. Norbert Sander is one hell of a guy. He’s the founder, president and CEO of the Armory Foundation, which operates a world-class indoor track, mainly for kids, in north Manhattan (but not far from New Jersey). Alan Webb became the first high school miler to go sub-4 indoors there in 2001, and Marla Runyan the same year set an American record for the indoor 5,000 meters.

Better yet, the Armory acts as a one-stop social welfare agency, where (according to its Web site), “thousands of high school students and adults from throughout New York City and the surrounding area come to exercise, learn and aspire to improve their lives.”
“The Armory,” it went on, “sponsors programs in technology learning through its tech center, as well as programs for literacy, jobs training, teens at risk, immigrant services, teacher training, mentoring and senior citizens health. In fewer than ten years, the facility has gone from a dire and malfunctioning shelter to a full-service community center, a national landmark, and the pride of the neighborhood.”
For these efforts, Dr. Sander in December 2000 was honored by USATF with its Pacesetter Award.
As a 501(c)3 nonprofit charitable organization, the Armory also operates the National Track & Field Hall of Fame.
In 2004, according to its tax filings, the Armory made $2.8 million and spent $2.4 million (including $101,770 for Dr. Sander’s salary — not bad for someone already operating as physician. He specializes in internal medicine — in which he is board-certified — and graduated 35 years ago from New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He has no record of state or federal disciplinary actions, according to HealthGrades.com)
As a physician, he’s Dr. Clean.
But when Sander informed USATF Masters T&F Chairman George Mathews that the Armory couldn’t afford the 2007 masters indoor nationals it won in 2004, eyebrows shot up.
Doubts were fueled when I learned (from another source) that he had written that the 2007 meet “was costing them $130,000 to put on . . . with $58,000 (in) revenues. (Sander) also believed that the room rates would be over $200 a night by then since they didn’t block any rooms.”
So I decided to go straight to the source. I sent Dr. Sander an email inquiry about these figures and other issues. I also asked for a copy of the original 2004 bid documents. He replied last Tuesday:
Dear Ken,
Thank you for your letter. In sum, all the pertinent facts are known and we regret that we are unable to host the 2007 Masters Championship here in New York. The Armory is a non-profit organization which must rely on our 120 meets per year to cover their costs. Both the USATF Masters Chairman George Matthews and the representatives of the Armory who attended the National Meet in 2004 acted in good faith but were perhaps overly optimistic about how the competition could be successfully funded.
After meeting with George and Jim Flanik, February 23rd at the Armory, it became very clear that the difference between the usual fees paid by Masters and the actual cost of putting on the meet was a wide gap that could not be bridged. The costs of New York City hotels also were higher than the usual Masters budget, which again made the meet at the Armory unrealistic. With over a year to go before the 2007 Championship, I do not believe any real damage has been done. As the busiest indoor track & field facility in America serving runners of all ages, we can only wish you and all the master’s competitors the very best for next year’s competition.
Respectfully
Norbert W. Sander, Jr., M.D.
President
The Armory Foundation
216 Fort Washington Avenue, NYC
(212) 923-1803 ext.10
But you know me. I still wasn’t satisfied.
I wrote him back, snarkily:
“I see from your 990 report in 2004 that you had $652,000 in government
contribitions that year. Not bad. Curious whether that money came with strings attached or whether the donating orgainzations would be happy about the Armory having to cancel the 2007 meet.”
Dr. Sander then replied a final time:
Dear Ken,
Thank you for your reply. We put to good use all donations to the Armory
especially in the area of Youth Development with over 400,000 visits yearly.
As to the “2007 Masters” we consider the matter now closed and must direct
our attention to the remaining indoor season and the outdoor season in New
York, which has just begun.
Thank you for your past interest,
Respectfully,
Norb
OK, so I guess he doesn’t wanna talk about.
But others still do — especially the leadership of the USATF Metropolitan Association (formerly the MAC), who confirm publicly what a source told me a few days ago: Dr. Sander and the Armory left the Metropolitan out of the loop in planning for the 2007 masters indoor nationals.
One who would know is Met President Rosalyn “Roz” Katz, a national-class W60 thrower who was USATF Eastern Regional coordinator for nine years.
Roz isn’t a happy camper about the 2007 bid — notably because her association was led to think in December 2004 that it would be a full partner with the Armory in putting on the indoor nationals. Not so, she says.
“A past MAC president was the person at the USATF Convention when the bid was made,” Roz wrote me a few days ago. “(Current association executive director) Dorothy Clinton was not there. She and the board found out about it after the fact. We were led to believe that it would be a joint effort between the Armory and MAC. I know that that was the way it was presented at the convention.
“With our expertise and the Armory’s ability to put the meet on without constraints, it would have been a good meet. After we signed off, MAC was phased out by the Armory. There was no contact, or communication. Once it was signed, the Armory no longer needed MAC!”
Several weeks ago, Sander informed USATF that it was dropping out as meet host.
Roz wrote: “Dr. Sander didn’t give MAC the courtesy of letting us know that the Armory wasn’t going to host the meet. We found out after the fact when everybody else did.”
A little later, Dorothy Clinton checked in, writing: “I did not sign the bid. Jude Massillon, the President of MAC, signed the bid for the master’s meet. I learned after the fact.”
Facts are few in this situation, and I’m continuing to seek the real poop behind the Armory’s mystifying 180-degree turnaround on the 2007 indoor nationals.