James Dolan, owner of the New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden, made an unplanned stop at WFAN to deliver a message to fans and a scathing indictment of city leadership.
The crackdown surrounding MSG for Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals has been staggering. The same frozen zone that was implemented when President Trump attended on Tuesday — stretching from 29th to 35th Street, north to south, and 6th Avenue to 8th Avenue, east to west — was kept in place for Game 4, even though the president is not in attendance.
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Dolan didn’t hold back when describing the scene.
“I mean, like I said, you would think we were guarding… Fort Knox,” Dolan said in a clip shared on YouTube.
According to Dolan, the security apparatus included magnetometers, ticket verification checkpoints and officers turning away anyone who can’t prove they have a reason to be in the area.
Subway riders weren’t spared either — they’re being pushed outside the perimeter and forced to walk through the same gauntlet. Dolan estimates that once fans stop their cars or exit a train, it took no less than an hour to actually reach the building.
But it’s not just ticketholders that felt the squeeze. Local businesses — bars, restaurants, pizza shops — have hired extra staff and stocked up for what should be the biggest night of the year.
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Instead, they’re watched customers get turned away at police checkpoints blocks from their front doors.
The Knicks organization had outdoor watch parties planned, as they have throughout the entire postseason — events that drew tens of thousands of fans and passed without serious incident.
The mayor’s office, however, granted a permit capping attendance at 999 people.
“This is about celebrating the Knicks at Madison Square Garden at the mecca of basketball. This is what the the mayor’s office and the commissioner’s office is trying to kill,” Dolan said. “They don’t want the celebration.”
Dolan was careful to separate rank-and-file NYPD officers from the decision-making. He praised the department’s captains and chiefs and said point-blank they can handle this crowd.
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The problem, in his view, sits squarely with Mayor Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tish — both of whom he says lack the experience to manage a moment this big.
“They have never managed anything like this before,” he said, “and it’s like peanut butter and jelly sandwich — it’s coming out the sides.”
With the “frozen zone” stretching multiple blocks around Madison Square Garden in place, thousands of displaced fans instead converged on massive, city-sanctioned alternative hubs like Bryant Park, Central Park’s Wollman Rink and the Brooklyn Bowl.
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