LONDON – With New York’s Olympic stadium rejected, the International Olympic Committee says the city’s bid officials are free to submit an alternative plan before the vote next month that will decide the site of the 2012 games. New York has been considering its options following Monday’s rejection of the proposed $2 billion stadium on the West Side.

NYC2012 bid officials sought clarification from the IOC, and received a response yesterday. Citing an “exceptional circumstance,” the IOC said New York can modify the plan – but must go to the IOC executive board for approval before the vote in Singapore on July 6.

The IOC said the bid file closed on February 24, when the IOC evaluation commission completed its visit to New York. The city couldn’t provide guarantees for the stadium at the time, and the IOC said New York had until the Singapore session to do so.

“As we now understand the situation, New York is not able to provide such guarantees,” IOC communications director Giselle Davies said in a letter to bid leader Daniel Doctoroff.

“In such an exceptional circumstance as this, a bid city has the right to address the issue in front of the executive board.”

The board next meets in Singapore July 3-5 before the vote by the full IOC assembly. The executive board has the power to remove a bid city from the race if it determines the candidate doesn’t meet the technical requirements.

“New York sought a clarification of how things are, and we tried to help them with that,” Ms. Davies said in a phone interview. “This should not be seen as a response to a formal approach. It was simply a clarification.”

With time running out, New York is expected to decide within the next few days what to do next.

“We’re exploring every option,” Mr. Doctoroff said yesterday.

A last-minute deal salvaging the West Side site hasn’t been ruled out, and using another stadium in the New York area is another possibility.