Knicks, NYC Officials Spar Over MSG Watch Parties

As New Yorkers relish the Knicks’ chances for a first championship in over 50 years, the organization continues to be at odds with City Hall and the New York Police Department over watch parties near Madison Square Garden. 

MSG and New York mayor Zohran Mamdani issued dueling statements Tuesday. 

After there were no MSG-adjacent watch parties for Game 3 on Monday, Mamdani pledged that the city had “approved a ticketed MSG watch party for Game 4” and said more details would follow. MSG sent a press release calling the mayor and NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch “New York City’s biggest party poopers”—in the headline. 

MSG said of Mamdani and Tisch that “despite what they say, [they] don’t want to see these celebrations happen” outside the Garden. 

“We have been told that the NYPD will once again implement the same ‘frozen zone’ restrictions for Game 4, which were supposedly to thwart any threats related to the President’s attendance,” the release said. The Knicks had previously said that the restrictions around Game 3 had nothing to do with Trump, while the police said they were planned with the Secret Service.

The NYPD said Tuesday night that the street closures around the arena would return for Game 4 on Wednesday night, with six blocks of Seventh Avenue in midtown Manhattan closed for the game. 

“Starting at 4pm, no one will be allowed inside the secure area unless they have a ticket to the game, a train ticket, are going to a business (restaurant or bar) inside the area, live in the area, have credentials, or have some other authorized reason to be there,” police said in a security plan distributed to reporters Tuesday night. 

The Knicks feel that what the mayor has privately communicated to them is “restrictive” and the franchise’s understanding is that this watch party outside MSG would only accommodate under one thousand people, a source told Front Office Sports. 

The NYPD, meanwhile, pointed the finger back at the Knicks. “In their application permit for the watch party for Wednesday night, MSG only requested an event that could accommodate between 500-1,000 people,” a police spokesperson said. “The city granted the max number of attendees for their request, so there will be a 1,000-person ticketed watch party.”

A source told FOS that MSG applied for the same permit it has for every game.

Knicks owner James Dolan ripped into Tisch and Mamdani in a rare radio interview on Wednesday afternoon.

“I don’t think they have faith in their own police force,” he told Craig Carton on WFAN. “We do! We know they know what they’re doing. Honestly, the mayor’s office and the commissioner do not have the experience to do this. They’ve never managed anything like this before.”

Dolan aimed his ire at Tisch, saying that “this was her plan all along,” separate from Trump’s visit. He also added that there would be no screens at the party outside MSG.

Tisch said at a press conference Monday that the MSG watch parties were expected to resume and “will be managed with pens and screening, and we do anticipate the same security perimeter for safety purposes.”

The sniping continued into Wednesday. At a press conference, Mamdani reiterated that MSG applied for a party permit for 500-999 people and said, “As my police commissioner outlined at her security briefing on Monday, additional security measures will be in place outside of Madison Square Garden for game four to ensure that everyone can safely enjoy the event and the security in place this evening is in line with the measures that the NYPD uses for gatherings at this size whether it be July 4th or New Year’s Eve and what we are speaking about here is really a moment where this team has brought an extraordinary amount of energy, pride, excitement to every corner of our city.”

MSG pushed back, issuing a statement accusing the mayor of hatching “a plan to freeze out fans from celebrating outside Madison Square Garden, which will turn the streets around MSG into a police state.”

The statement was headlined “Knicks Fans Deserve Honest Answers From Mayor Mamdani” and blasted out to reporters Wednesday.

“Issues that happened at the Mayor’s Bryant Park watch party (a city-run watch party) are not related to blocks around MSG nor any other previously run MSG watch party.  Additionally there have been minimal problems in other cities where NBA Final watch parties occurred and they have had successful experiences around those respective arenas,” an MSG spokesperson said, citing examples from the last several years in other cities. 

“If the Mayor won’t allow that, can he at least give Knicks fans an honest answer of why not? He can’t blame it on the President. He is not coming to Game 4 and there is no reason to create a police state around The Garden.”

Watch parties for Game 3 were ultimately held at Central Park, Brooklyn Bowl, and Bryant Park. Cops said that the party at Bryant Park had “large physical and violent fights that resulted in multiple injuries.” The department said five officers were injured during the evening. Ultimately, eight people were arrested at the gathering, including two who were accused of assaulting officers. 

The Knicks hold a 2-1 series lead over the Spurs in the best-of-seven series after San Antonio won Game 3.