{"id":23710,"date":"2026-06-05T21:17:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T21:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/knicks-fever-hits-the-pols\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T21:17:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T21:17:18","slug":"knicks-fever-hits-the-pols","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/knicks-fever-hits-the-pols\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks fever hits the pols"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Your<\/p>\n

LAYUP:<\/b> The New York Knicks are in the NBA finals, and politicians can\u2019t seem to get enough of it.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re hosting invite-only watch parties as an excuse to butter up the political press and cash in on the cultural cachet.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re deploying taxpayer-funded staff to film and edit Knicks-focused social media clips of themselves, fit with music, multiple shooting locations and a whole lot of hype.<\/p>\n

And they\u2019re even mocking up government documents in an effort to spread good vibes \u2014 and good publicity \u2014 around New York\u2019s basketball team.<\/p>\n

It feels like Empire State\u2019s electeds are jumping at every opportunity they can to graft their political brands onto a once-in-a-generation milestone for the Knickerbockers, and it\u2019s happening everywhere you look.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a real unique hunger that is both exciting and unifying about this year and this run that a lot of candidates are trying to tap into,\u201d said Matt Rey, a Democratic operative with Red Horse Strategies. \u201cIt\u2019s really hard to reach people on anything live now, except for sports, and this is the height of it, especially for a local area \u2026 Any way that you can advertise during, before, after games in the finals is the best chance you have to reach the most amount of Democratic primary voters, bar none.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayor Zohran Mamdani got in on that opportunity Wednesday night when he starred in a commercial<\/a> that aired during Game 1 and featured the mayor\u2019s three favored congressional candidates dishing the rock to each other as if they left their day jobs to become full-time hoopers.<\/p>\n

He also revealed this morning he\u2019ll be at Monday night\u2019s game, and paying for his own ticket \u2014 which will cost the former rent-stabilized tenant a pretty penny.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump also plans to attend, and Mamdani demurred when asked if he was invited to sit with the president or plans on holding some sort of in-person meeting while Trump is in town.<\/p>\n

“I’ll keep the nature of those conversations between the two of us,\u201d Mamdani told 1010 WINS.<\/p>\n

The mayor is making his Knicks fandom known in other ways, like drafting up an executive order<\/a> allowing kids to stay up past their bedtimes to watch the Knicks (It\u2019s the law, mom!), inviting the San Antonio Spurs\u2019 center Victor Wembanyama to participate in the next Charter Revision Commission meeting, and commissioning Knicks-themed art for City Hall\u2019s rotunda and steps.<\/p>\n

Other more staid politicians are getting in on it too. Crime-prosecuting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg happily turned his press conference about the indictment of a brazen retail theft ring into an opportunity to talk Knicks basketball.<\/p>\n

And the irreverent Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar posted an AI graphic<\/a> of herself with two of the team\u2019s star players, as if the three are all pals.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York, it\u2019s time. Let\u2019s. Go. Knicks. \ud83c\udfc0\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the bets: the cliched wagers between elected officials from different cities, where the losing team\u2019s city or state\u2019s quintessential food is sent to the winning team\u2019s supporters. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is betting Texas Sen. Ted Cruz slices of Joe’s Pizza and some Brooklyn Lager \u2014 and she\u2019ll get to down Texas BBQ if the orange-and-blue win. Nick LaLota is betting a 6-foot hero on the Knicks winning, in a wager with a Texas congressman. And the New York City Council is putting bagels on the line in a wager against the breakfast-taco-eating San Antonio City Council.<\/p>\n

For those electeds considering whether or not to jump in on the trend, Rey, the Knicks-fan-turned-Dem-operative, has some advice: \u201cDon’t be a bandwagon fan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you’re into this run, go all for it, because this is exciting to you, and is part of what makes you unique, but if it doesn’t make you unique, find something else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gov. Kathy Hochul, for her part, isn\u2019t betting anything. She shut the door<\/a> on any friendly wager with the Lone Star State after the Texas Gov. Greg Abbott published<\/a> an AI-generated image of dunking on Hochul.<\/p>\n

For Hochul, a famous Bills fan, the bar for glomming onto \u2014 and embracing \u2014 any sort of athletic energy that engrosses New York is low.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fired up,\u201d she said at a press conference Thursday, where both the World Cup and NBA Finals were discussed. \u201cI\u2019m excited about this. I\u2019m a huge sports fan, whatever it is. If there\u2019s a ball involved, I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the Capitol<\/h3>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

THE LEGISLATIVE FINALE: <\/b>The annual legislative session is crawling to a close with the Assembly spending today chipping away at its final package of bills.<\/p>\n

The Senate concluded its business at 1:30 this morning. Assemblymembers are expecting to wrap up this evening \u2014 but optimism that the final buzzer will sound before the Knicks tip off at 8:30 p.m. is ebbing.<\/p>\n

A good chunk of the final day was spent unanimously passing a bill from Assemblymember Alex Bores that would impose regulations on how AI chatbots interact with minors. The bots would be banned from engaging in sexually explicit conduct or encouraging kids to commit suicide.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you cannot make chatbots safe for children, you should not make them available to children,\u201d said Bores, who\u2019s running in a hotly-contested congressional primary<\/a>. \u201cI cannot think of a more appropriate bill to be my final bill in the chamber.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Assembly also debated a constitutional amendment that would move elections such as upstate mayoral contests and district attorney races to even-numbered years.<\/p>\n

Democrats have argued the shifts will improve turnout in under-the-radar races and save money since polling sites will be opened less often. It\u2019s much easier for voters \u201cto put their energy into these elections all at once, instead of being stressed out every year about different offices,\u201d Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha said.<\/b><\/p>\n

Republicans have long opposed this, as well as 2023 legislation that moved most town and county races to even-numbered years, saying the shifts will politicize elections that should be decided by who\u2019s best at managing snow plows.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is blatant power grab number four,\u201d Assemblymember Joe Sempolinski said, summarizing a week when Democrats also passed measures on congressional redistricting<\/a>, judicial redistricting<\/a> and ending the bipartisan Board of Elections\u2019 power to choose the wording for referenda<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of those are very partisan attacks on the integrity of our democratic institutions,\u201d Sempolinski said. \u201cWhat the people back home want us focused on is making their lives better, making their lives more affordable, not what we\u2019re doing \u2014 which is the Democratic Party seizing more power for itself.\u201d \u2014 Bill Mahoney<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

FROM CITY HALL<\/h3>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

OVERKILL:<\/b> A new report<\/a> from City Comptroller Mark Levine found the majority of NYPD overtime \u2014 an outlay that routinely costs the city around $1 billion annually \u2014 comes from events that are known well in advance and could be better planned for.<\/p>\n

“Overtime spending has been a clear cost the NYPD wants to rein in, especially as New York City seeks to reduce recurring expenses in light of projected budget gaps,\u201d Levine said in a statement accompanying today\u2019s report. \u201cOvertime should be used when absolutely necessary to enable police officers to keep communities safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

During last year\u2019s mayoral campaign, Mamdani pledged to rein in OT spending that has regularly been underbudgeted in the city\u2019s annual spending plan, creating an unwelcome and pricey surprise when the bill comes due.<\/p>\n

In the current fiscal year set to end June 30, Levine projects NYPD overtime costs will reach $890 million, the third-highest year on record.<\/p>\n

To rein in costs, Levine suggested the department better manage staffing for parades, quality-of-life initiatives and other predictable events to prioritize regular shifts. He also recommended holding specific commands accountable when they routinely blow their overtime budgets, mandating rest periods for officers who work extended shifts to avoid fatigue and creating a more comprehensive accountability structure that could be audited.<\/p>\n

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has pledged to get a better grip on overtime spending too, and Levine\u2019s report suggested that her efforts have produced some preliminarily positive results.<\/p>\n

But a confluence of summer events including the World Cup, the NBA finals and celebrations for America\u2019s 250th anniversary are expected to add around $92 million to the NYPD\u2019s overtime budget for the upcoming fiscal year, though some of that will be covered by federal dollars.<\/p>\n

At a recent City Council hearing, where Tisch said the department\u2019s overtime spending has also gone up because of salary increases and general inflation, she pledged to balance the demands on the department with the fiscal goals of the comptroller and mayor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis uniquely busy period will lead to an increase in overtime spend,\u201d she said. \u201cHowever, this increase does not change our overtime management plan or our priority to ensure the safety of all New Yorkers while being a responsible fiscal steward.\u201d \u2014 Joe Anuta<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

PENN DRAMA: <\/b>Rep. Jerry Nadler is fuming over legislation<\/a> pushed by a developer selected to redo Penn Station.<\/p>\n

Before Amtrak picked Halmar<\/a> to overhaul Penn in May, the developer shopped a bill on Capitol Hill to allow the railroad to benefit from nearby commercial development.<\/p>\n

The effect of the legislation would be to supplant a now-paused deal between the state and midtown developers, including Vornado, to fund billions of dollars in upgrades to the rail hub using so-called payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, incentives. Under the bill, the developers could strike a deal with the Trump administration and make payments to Amtrak, cutting out New York officials. The head of Vornado, Steve Roth, is a former business associate<\/a> of the president\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Nadler was the only member to vote against the idea in committee when it was attached as an amendment to a surface transportation bill. The Democrat dinged the plan as a giveaway to developers and an effort to bypass local accountability.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a handout to Donald Trump and his real estate buddies, and New Yorkers will pay the price,\u201d Nadler said in a statement to Blue Light News.<\/p>\n

Halmar, which Amtrak awarded master development rights to in May, approached Nadler in mid-March with bill language. That was after Amtrak had floated the idea<\/a> of using PILOT incentives to help it pay for the new Penn Station \u2014 but before Halmar was tapped as the winning developer.<\/p>\n

The amendment was introduced by Rep. Addison McDowell (R-N.C.) and backed in committee by Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.). Both see the bill, which has broad language that applies outside of New York, as a way to make it easier for Amtrak to fund upgrades across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is maybe the first time I\u2019ve ever heard a Democrat not support Amtrak making these kinds of decisions,\u201d Moulton said as he and Nadler briefly sparred over the amendment during a May 21 hearing.<\/p>\n

Halmar declined to comment. A spokesperson for Vornado did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

It remains unclear whether other Democrats will come out swinging against the idea, which supporters say could help speed up development around mass transit hubs \u2014 an idea that\u2019s generally appealing to Democrats. \u2014 Ry Rivard<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL<\/h3>\n

\"Incumbent<\/p>\n

DEBATE-A-PALOOZA: <\/b>One of the city\u2019s suddenly most competitive races will be getting a high-profile debate before the primary.<\/p>\n

Rep. Adriano Espaillat and Darializa Avila Chevalier \u2014 his Mamdani-backed challenger \u2014 will take the stage on June 17 for a debate hosted by Telemundo 47\/WNJU. Theo Chino-Tavarez and Oscar Romero, two other candidates vying for the seat, will appear as well.<\/p>\n

The debate will be conducted exclusively in Spanish. Hispanic residents make up around half of the district, which includes parts of upper Manhattan and the Bronx.<\/p>\n

The primary has heated up since Mamdani weighed in for Avila Chevalier last week. On Friday, a day after a testy forum on WNYC<\/a> between Espaillat and Avila Chevalier, both campaigns held events in Harlem touting their respective progressive backing. \u2014 Madison Fernandez<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

IN OTHER NEWS<\/h3>\n

\u2014 BATTLEGROUND: <\/b>Espaillat and Avila Chevalier are intensifying outreach to Harlem\u2019s Black electorate, a crucial bloc in the closely watched primary fight. (The New York Times<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u2018BLINDSIDED\u2019: <\/b>Parents of trans children say Mount Sinai plans to share records of children receiving gender-affirming care with the Trump administration. (Gothamist<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u2014 MR. MET:<\/b> Ali Najmi, former election attorney to Mamdani and head of NYC\u2019s commission to select local judges, is now working for billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen. (Hell Gate<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Missed this morning\u2019s New York Playbook? We forgive you. <\/b>Read it here<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LAYUP: The New York Knicks are in the NBA finals, and politicians can\u2019t seem to get enough of it. They\u2019re hosting invite-only watch parties as an excuse to butter up the political press and cash in on the cultural cachet. They\u2019re deploying taxpayer-funded staff to film and edit Knicks-focused social media clips of themselves, fit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}