{"id":261831,"date":"2026-06-10T12:55:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T12:55:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/261831\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T12:55:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T12:55:32","slug":"knicks-fever-nyc-resumes-watch-party-outside-msg-tonight-but-with-security-restrictions-that-leave-teams-ownership-fuming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/261831\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks fever: NYC resumes watch party outside MSG tonight, but with security restrictions that leave team\u2019s ownership fuming"},"content":{"rendered":"

Knicks fans who can\u2019t get inside Madison Square Garden for Game 4 of the NBA Finals<\/a> tonight will be able to watch all the action outside \u201cThe World\u2019s Most Famous Arena<\/a>,\u201d but there will be tight security measures in place.<\/p>\n

Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a> and the NYPD have announced that the watch party will return to outside MSG after being relocated Monday night to Bryant Park due to President Donald Trump\u2019s attendance during Game 3<\/a>, which the Knicks lost to the San Antonio Spurs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But because the Bryant Park party, and two other watch parties at MSG, saw dozens of fans arrested for assaulting cops, obstructing traffic and other chaotic acts,<\/a> Mamdani said the city would be stepping up crowd control efforts \u2014 from mandating that all partygoers have a ticket to attend, to sealing off certain streets around the arena Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cNEW YORK: We\u2019re back outside the Garden. We have approved a ticketed MSG watch party for Game 4. More details soon. 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. Knicks in 5,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

MSG is expected to release 1,000 tickets for the watch party later on Wednesday on the Knicks\u2019 official website<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

What Knicks fans can expect heading to the Garden<\/p>\n

\"\"Fans pose in front of cops.Photo by Dean Moses \"\"Security at MSG.Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n

Wednesday night\u2019s watch party at Plaza33 will feature a hefty security perimeter, police said. This perimeter will run from West 29th to West 35th Streets, between Sixth and Eighth Avenues, and will begin being established at 4 p.m. <\/p>\n

Seventh Avenue between West 29th Street and West 35th Street will be closed to both vehicles and pedestrian traffic.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cStarting at 4 p.m., 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,\u201d the NYPD said in a statement. \u201cEveryone entering the secure area will be screened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ticket holders for the watch party must enter via the access point on the west side of Sixth Avenue at West 33rd Street.\n<\/p>\n

These stringent security measures, similar to what was seen on Monday in preparation for the president\u2019s arrival for the game, drew the ire of Madison Square Garden Sports (MSG Sports), the ownership group run by CEO James Dolan, who had invited Trump to watch Game 3 from a luxury box. MSG Sports heavily criticized both Mamdani and Tisch for the restrictions to be imposed on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\"NYPD\u201cThere will unfortunately be no watch party outside of Madison Square Garden for Game 3 of the finals, and no access to the immediate vicinity of MSG without an authorized reason to be there,\u201d said Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch during the briefing at One Police Plaza, which also featured Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service New York Field Office Matt McCool.Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last several victories the Knicks have had have been celebrated by thousands and thousands outside MSG. The joy and happiness were palpable everywhere. Apparently, Mayor Mamdani and Police Commissioner Tisch, despite what they say, don\u2019t want to see these celebrations happen,\u201d MSG Sports said in a statement. \u201cWe have been told that the NYPD will once again implement the same \u2018frozen zone\u2019 restrictions for Game 4, which were supposedly to thwart any threats related to the President\u2019s attendance. We now know these restrictions were never about the President -it was just a convenient excuse to restrict how and when Knicks fans celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Businesses inside the security perimeter will be permitted to remain open to fans, but with strict capacity limits, the NYPD said. MSG Sports, however, argued that the security zones would negatively impact the establishments seeking to capitalize on the Knicks\u2019 championship pursuit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe complete closing of areas around MSG is going to affect not only the celebration but also all the small businesses that rely on Garden fans for their livelihood,\u201d MSG Sports said in its statement. \u201cThese celebrations are part of the heart and soul of New Yorkers. The actions of the Mayor and Police Commissioner, supposedly in support of the Knicks and their fans, are difficult to understand. We urge them to lift these restrictions and embrace the love of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s statement did not address the incidents at previous watch parties outside MSG and at Bryant Park that led to dozens of arrests.\n<\/p>\n

\"KnicksSome 21 Knicks fans were arrested, and several police officers were injured in Midtown late Monday night as the Bryant Park basketball watch party turned into a riot.Photo by Dean Moses \"\"Police discharge pepper-spray.Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n

The restrictions come after the watch party outside of Bryant Park on Monday turned into a riot when fans brawled with one another, uprooted trees, and clashed with cops. Several officers unleashed pepper spray, and the department\u2019s controversial SRG unit deployed on the scene after some Knicks supporters hurled bottles and other objects at police. <\/p>\n

Basketball fanatics even surrounded a bus stop sign and attempted to rip it out of the concrete ground by twisting it and shaking it rapidly. One man could even be seen posing with the bus sign that fell from the pole.<\/p>\n

According to an NYPD spokesperson, some 7,000 fans gathered in the area, 21 of whom were arrested for charges such as disorderly conduct and assault on a police officer. Five cops suffered minor injuries.<\/p>\n

\"\"The view of the watch party from SUMMIT One Vanderbilt.Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Knicks fans who can\u2019t get inside Madison Square Garden for Game 4 of the NBA Finals tonight will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261832,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[10663,70376,9,56,63,65,64,103,104,42062,11570],"class_list":["post-261831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-knicks","tag-msg","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-nypd","tag-police","tag-riot","tag-tisch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261831"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261831\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}