We're outta it!

NYC eliminated in second round of Olympic voting

By MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

SINGAPORE — New York's Olympic dream is over — for now.

The International Olympic Committee has anointed London as the host city for the 2012 Summer Games, ending New York's 11-year quest for gold.

“I thank all of you for showing great competitive spirit in this long race,” IOC president Jacques Rogge announced at 7:50 a.m. EST today.

“The International Olympic Committee has the honor of announcing that the Games of the XXX Olympiad in 2012 are awarded to the city of London,” Rogge said to surprised and thunderous applause.

Paris was considered the city to beat — making the victory even sweeter for its European rival London.

New York fell out of contention in the second round of balloting, an embarrassing blow to Mayor Bloomberg and the city’s bid leaders, who repeatedly tried to convince New Yorkers that the city was a front-runner for the Games.

Sen. Hillary Clinton had changed her schedule to fly 18 hours to Singapore to lend star power to the bid.

But after a delay in early voting, New York was quickly axed. Moscow was eliminated in the first round, and Madrid was eliminated in the third round. London beat Paris in the final count.

Bloomberg watched the announcement along with aides, including bid founder and Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff. The mayor planned to speak to reporters before heading home on a private plane.

In Rockefeller Center, supporters who had gathered to watch the vote on live TV let out a disappointed “awwww” when New York was bumped from the competition about 6:35 a.m. EST.

“I hoped in my heart that New York would win, but in my head I knew the odds were stacked against us,” said upper East Sider Michael Johnson, 41.

Always a long-shot, New York had made an emotional pitch for the Games, casting itself as a city on the rise after the devastating attacks of 9/11.

But it couldn’t overcome the defeat of the West Side Stadium — the centerpiece of the city’s bid — so close to today’s vote.

On June 6 a state board scuttled Bloomberg’s plan to build the $1.9 billion Manhattan stadium that would also have been the new home of the New York Jets. The city was forced to submit a Plan B bid that moved the stadium to Queens.

Earlier, Bloomberg said he was proud of the city’s bid and he wasn’t worried about the impact of a loss on his re-election efforts.

“We as New Yorkers — those of us here and those of you back in the greatest city in the world — we have every reason to hold our head high no matter what happens,” said Bloomberg following the city’s final presentation to the IOC. “We did ourselves proud.”