City blames social media as it sidelines spontaneous Knicks watch parties

Impromptu watch parties near Madison Square Garden have become rowdier as the New York Knicks returned to the NBA Finals. The NYPD plans to bar uncontrolled events as the Finals begin next week and to work events where officers can block entry, pen crowds, and cap crowd sizes. The department linked recent large outdoor screenings to viral social media street-interview accounts that helped drive crowds. Police cited videos showing fans brawling, climbing on building awnings, and jeering while officers tried to maintain control. A spontaneous gathering drew about 6,000 people and led to six arrests, while another event on Memorial Day led to six summonses for disorderly conduct. The mayor supported city-sanctioned gatherings where safety is maintained.

"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."

"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"

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