Impromptu watch parties near Madison Square Garden have gotten rowdier as the New York Knicks have roared their way back into the NBA Finals, and the NYPD is blaming some social media influencers for riling up the crowds.
A department spokesperson said officers will be barring “uncontrolled” events as the Finals begin next week and working events where officers can block entry, pen crowds and cap crowd sizes. The move comes after several outdoor screenings at MSG drew thousands of fans, some driven there by viral street-interview accounts on social media like Sidetalk, which a department spokesperson described as a force multiplier for chaos.
Police officials pointed to videos from outside Madison Square Garden showing fans brawling in the street, climbing on top of building awnings and jeering as an officer shouted through a megaphone trying to maintain control.
Attempts to reach Sidetalk were not immediately successful.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has embraced the department's approach, saying his administration wants to make it easier for New Yorkers to celebrate the team's dominant run — their first Finals appearance since 1999 — at sites where crowds can be controlled.
"We're going to have watch parties. We're incredibly excited about those parties," Mamdani said on Tuesday at an unrelated press conference, pointing to recent city-sanctioned gatherings at Radio City Music Hall and Brooklyn Bowl, which ended without any arrests. "It's a time for New Yorkers to celebrate and it's a time where they're also safe."
A spontaneous gathering outside of MSG last week drew an estimated 6,000 people, where fans jumped police barricades, climbed light posts and drank in the street, police said. Six people were arrested.
Another unsanctioned event at the same spot on Memorial Day was less chaotic, but still resulted in six summonses for disorderly conduct, according to the department.
The NYPD recommended against approving outdoor watch party permits at MSG for both games. The Street Activity Permit Office, which sits in the mayor's office and makes the final call on permits, sided with police and denied applications for both events.
A City Hall spokesperson said the administration remains committed to permitting more parties going forward, but only at controlled sites.
Madison Square Garden declined to comment.
