For James Dolan, the famously irascible owner of the New York Knicks, a sudden feud with Mayor Zohran Mamdani seemed in character, and unsurprising to longtime Madison Square Garden Kremlinologists.<\/p>\n
But its 0-to-60 escalation in bitterness \u2014 with Mr. Dolan describing Mr. Mamdani and his police commissioner, Jessica S. Tisch, as fake Knicks fans and hopelessly inexperienced city managers \u2014 struck some observers as self-defeating, especially with his team on the cusp of its first N.B.A. title in more than 50 years.<\/p>\n
Mr. Dolan\u2019s animus seems to stem from the city\u2019s decision to maintain a strict security zone surrounding the Garden, at a time when jubilant Knicks fans want to celebrate their team, unfettered.<\/p>\n
Hours before Game 4 on Wednesday night, Mr. Dolan went on WFAN<\/a>, a sports radio station, ostensibly to warn ticket holders to arrive early because the Police Department was implementing a security perimeter around the Garden, much as Ms. Tisch had foreshadowed during a news conference on Monday.<\/p>\n But Mr. Dolan also used the opportunity to to declare war on the mayor and Ms. Tisch.<\/p>\n Over a 29-minute radio interview, Mr. Dolan described the two city officials as callow incompetents who have no faith in their underlings\u2019 ability to police the city, and have no true interest in the Knicks or in the New Yorkers eager to celebrate them.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have never managed anything like this before, and it\u2019s like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches coming out the sides,\u201d Mr. Dolan said.<\/p>\n If the moment was remarkable for its public disdain, it was also par for the course for Mr. Dolan. He has long nurtured his own unpopularity by, among other things, creating a facial recognition dragnet at his entertainment properties; picking feuds with Charles Oakley<\/a>, the popular former Knicks player, as well as a mother accompanying<\/a> her daughter\u2019s Girl Scout troop<\/a> to the \u201cChristmas Spectacular\u201d; and even hiring a private eye<\/a> to tail a state official investigating whether the company had broken state beverage laws.<\/p>\n Mr. Dolan \u201cseems hell bent on making sure the city has rancid vibes for the finals run,\u201d Mr. Mamdani\u2019s spokesman, Joe Calvello, said on social media<\/a> Wednesday night.<\/p>\n Mr. Dolan began his fusillade of attacks on the mayor and Ms. Tisch Tuesday night with a news release<\/a> calling them \u201cNew York City\u2019s biggest party poopers\u201d for implementing a \u201cfrozen zone\u201d around the Garden for Game 4, just like the Police Department had for Monday\u2019s game, which both the mayor and the president attended.<\/p>\n \u201cWe now know these restrictions were never about the president \u2014 it was just a convenient excuse to restrict how and when Knicks fans celebrate,\u201d said the statement, which urged the city to alter its plans.<\/p>\n That release was followed by another<\/a> on Wednesday, arguing that there was no need for a \u201cpolice state\u201d and criticizing the 1,000-person limitation for a ticketed watch party outside the Garden.<\/p>\n That release was followed by another<\/a> that declared that the team was canceling the watch party because it was too small.<\/p>\n A spokeswoman for the Garden declined to comment.<\/p>\n A police spokeswoman said the behavior of some Knicks fans during Wednesday night\u2019s game \u2014 including jumping on top of moving vehicles, throwing things at police officers, lighting fireworks in the middle of crowds and trying to turn over a taxi \u2014 proved the need for such strict security.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce again, there were large crowds of people who engaged in incredibly reckless and dangerous behavior last night both during and after the game,\u201d according to a police statement. \u201cThis demonstrates exactly why the N.Y.P.D. has increased our presence in and around Madison Square Garden.\u201d<\/p>\n The public spat between Mr. Dolan and Mr. Mamdani suggests Mr. Mamdani may have a harder time gaining access to the relatively low-cost house seats<\/a> the Garden granted him and his colleagues for Monday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n