Mamdani and Knicks owner feud over Madison Square Garden security

A public feud has erupted between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Madison Square Garden CEO James Dolan as the Knicks chase an NBA title. Hours before Game 4, MSG canceled a planned outdoor watch party after city officials imposed crowd-control measures. On WFAN, Dolan said the restrictions were "designed around stopping people from celebrating around Madison Square Garden," blaming the mayor's office for measures he said would create long delays and discourage fans.

Mamdani responded on X, accusing Dolan of spreading misinformation and saying the city had approved a scaled-down watch party. He noted MSG requested a permit for 500–999 fans and that the city approved it for 999, but Mr. Dolan then decided to cancel the event.

MSG representatives insisted the venue "didn't cancel anything," saying they did not use the permit because the thousand-person, ticketed limit would leave "tens of thousands" of fans out in the cold.

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