A war of words has erupted between New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York Knicks owner James Dolan over the cancellation of a watch party organized for Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
Mamdani announced the bad news on X Wednesday afternoon, explaining that Madison Square Garden Sports had “requested a permit for a watch party for 500-999 fans,” which the city had approved.
“Mr Dolan has now decided to cancel the watch party. I know this is breaking hearts across our city,” the mayor continued.
“But if there’s one thing Knicks fans don’t need permission for, it’s showing up for our team wherever we may be – no matter the block or the borough. Knicks in five.”
The mayor ultimately got around the disappointment by relaying a broadcast of the big game between the Knicks and San Antonio Spurs – which the former won 107-106 after mounting a thrilling comeback – through LinkNYC wi-fi terminals across the Big Apple.
“When James Dolan cancels the watch party outside MSG, we bring the watch party to you,” he wrote on X. “Thanks to the NBA, Knicks Game 4 is now playing on dozens of LinkNYC screens across our city.”
However, MSGS disputed Mamdani’s version of events concerning the aborted party.
“Mayor Mamdani’s ‘granting’ of a watch party permit is disingenuous at best,” it said in a statement. “It came with multiple conditions, including not allowing more than 1,000 spectators and demanding that they must all have a ticket.”
The statement went on to attack the mayor for “freezing out” fans celebrating outside the arena with an excessive law enforcement presence, “which will turn the streets around MSG into a police state.”
Dolan himself made the same complaint about Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch during an appearance on WFAN’s Craig Carton Show earlier in the day.
Mamdani and Tisch, whom MSGS dubbed “party poopers,” have said the security protocols in place were consistent with major public events in the city like New Year’s Eve and July 4.
MSGS had already complained about the police presence at Game 4 a day earlier in another statement in which it described the decision to repeat the same arrangements put in place to accommodate President Donald Trump’s attendance at Game 3 as “difficult to understand.”
“We now know these restrictions were never about the President – it was just a convenient excuse to restrict how and when Knicks fans celebrate,” it read.
Trump sat with Dolan at Game 3 – an old friend who was married at the Republican’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida and who has donated to his political campaigns – but was heartily booed by the fans and lately ridiculed for appearing to fall asleep in his seat.
Dolan denied the allegation in his WFAN interview, saying he and Trump had been in conversation throughout.
Mamdani was also at the game, subsequently revealing he had paid $1,000 to see it from way back in the stands, and did not liaise with the president.
The Knicks narrowly lost Monday night’s encounter and the occasion was slightly marred by the outbreak of violence at a watch party organized by Mamdani’s team in Midtown Manhattan’s Bryant Park, which saw at least eight people as the disorder spilled out onto 42nd Street.
There were also brawls after Game 2 Friday when more than two dozen people were arrested outside of the Garden.
The mayor had appealed for better behavior ahead of Game 4, telling his fellow Knicks fans: “As we prepare to watch together, let me be clear: this is a historic, joyful moment for our city.
“We will not allow it to be disrupted by violence. Be safe, take care, and celebrate responsibly.”
He did not quite get his wish Wednesday, with fans celebrating wildly after the Knicks came back from 29 points down to claim an incredible victory, with OG Anunoby netting the winning three points.
