Brian Lehrer: Now, the second [word] with Hizzoner Zohran Mamdani, including to reflect a little as a sports fan on why these things can mean so much. Mr. Mayor thanks for a few minutes this morning, as I know you're among those not getting much sleep on Saturday night. Welcome back to WNYC.
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Thank you so much for having me, Brian. It's a pleasure to be back on.
Lehrer: So, Saturday night, to me, was New Year's Eve on steroids. I have honestly never seen as many New Yorkers gather in big outdoor groups to watch something not taking place in person. Why do you think this was such a galvanizing moment for New Yorkers?
Mayor Mamdani: Well, New Year's Eve happens every year, and we've been waiting 53 years for this. And I can tell you I've reached the age where now, sometimes, I do sleep through New Year's Eve, although I think that'll probably end as the mayor. And yet for this, you know, I went to bed at 3:45 in the morning, and I think that that was probably on the earlier side for many New Yorkers, because it has been year after year of believing that it could in fact be the year - year after year of heartbreaks and near-misses - and then to see this team over the course of this Finals run, it has been the fulfillment of all of that hope and all at once, and in many ways a reflection of what this city is at its best. And I think many of us are still - we're still living off of the high of Saturday night.
Lehrer: Maybe you just answered my next question, but you've announced the ticker-tape parade for Thursday. Former Mayor de Blasio said on SNY last year, we played the clip, that "the day the Knicks win, I think it'll be one of the most emotional parades we'll ever see in the Canyon of Heroes." Do you think that'll be the case, and if so, why?
Mayor Mamdani: I think it will. I think it will be an outpouring of emotion that so many have kept inside for so many years. You know, there were New Yorkers who ran out into the streets and just started crying after the victory on Saturday night. And there are many of us for whom a Knicks championship was something that we weren't even alive to see. The last time we were even this close, just in the Finals, was in 1999. And it was against the same team, and then they beat us 4-1. This time, we beat them 4- 1. And there's a beautiful full-circle part of it, in that Rick Brunson was a member of that Knicks team [then], and now his son, Jalen Brunson, is the captain of this Knicks team. And with a very different result, I think it will mean the world to New Yorkers, as it already has.
Lehrer: Beyond even the Knicks, though, you talk about people crying. Why do you think sports inspire strong feelings in you or me or the world at large? Crying, you know, it's not world peace.
Mayor Mamdani: No, it's - it's not, although Metta World Peace did play in the league. I think whether we're talking about the Finals or whether we are talking about the World Cup, you see how so much of this game, it is such a critical part of people's lives. And I know that there are some that try and diminish sports as if a distraction, but sports are also a fulfillment of oneself and one's vision for the world around them and what was one of the more beautiful things that I've seen over the course of this Finals run was how it was something people enjoyed together. So many people were looking to be a part of this alongside those that they knew and those who they never met before. When Landry Shamet hits a three, you're not just looking to hug the person next to you whose name you know, you're looking to embrace anyone around you. And I think it comes back to a vision of the city where we don't have to know each other's names - we don't even have to know each other's neighborhoods - we just have to know that we're with other New Yorkers. And that's what's brought this team together. It's the threshold of belonging is just to be a part of the city. And this Knicks team has given us something that I truly haven't seen for my entire life.
Lehrer: You know, I saw your guest article in the New York Times last weekend about being an Arsenal fan after they won their first soccer league championship in the UK Premier League in many, many years. It was on one level very detailed sports analysis. You know you could clearly be a World Cup broadcaster on TV and hold your own. They should have you in the booth one day. But it was also deeper and including this line, I'm going to read this for listeners: "For those of us with African roots, Arsenal represented something larger." Would you take us a little bit into what it represented, just briefly?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, I was born in Uganda, in East Africa, and Arsenal was one of the first teams to embrace African talent, and a lot of that was in thanks to its manager, Arsène Wenger. And there was this sense of familiarity even before I knew the team all that well, because it felt as if I was seeing a reflection of my childhood, my world, my dreams in that team without the typical kinds of hurdles that one has to jump to prove oneself as a part of something bigger than themselves. And I think it's true for Arsenal and I think it's also true for the Knicks in that - one thing that means so much to so many across the city is how they can see themselves in this team. I mean, you know, Saturday night was Game Five, Sunday was the Puerto Rican Day Parade, and I had the pleasure of standing next to Jose Alvarado at the Knickerbocker parade later in the day. And this is a man who was raised in New York City, who has brought this city to its feet and done so with the kind of relentlessness, the kind determination, and the kind love for this city that New Yorkers are so proud of. And it has given everyone that extra pep in their step as they walk through their lives to know that they are in fact not alone, both in how they feel about the city and how they feel that tomorrow could be better than today.
Lehrer: Yeah, the one bummer - and then I'll close with one more parade question - but the one bummer is so many arrests and property destruction and some people, including police officers, injured by that small number of fans getting violent after each game. Sixty-three arrests is the number I saw on Saturday night. I thought that was more of a Philadelphia thing. Do you think you're caught politically between people ready to call you soft on crime - if you don't have major crowd control measures going - and then the owner of the Knicks shutting down the video screen and ripping you for limiting the size of the watch party for Game Four when you did it for security reasons?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, I think that the truth of it is that the vast majority of New Yorkers celebrated responsibly, they celebrated appropriately and they celebrated in a way that reflected how long they've been waiting for this. As you said, there were a select few who behaved in a way that was unacceptable. And I've said this over the course of our Finals run. No matter how excited we are, there is no tolerance or acceptance for any kind of violence, whether it's towards someone that is right next to them or towards a police officer - it's not something that we tolerate in the city. And I'm thankful for the fact that the men and women of the NYPD have helped to keep our city safe over the course of this Finals run. And, you know, even when it comes to the MSG and the Knicks Organization working together to have a number of watch parties for Game Five, whether outside of MSG or at Radio City Music Hall or Central Park, because I think, as you've said, something that's been so meaningful to so many is that they can be a part of this with others around them.
Lehrer: I know you gotta go - last thing. I was hoping you'd put the parade on Friday because it's the holiday and the school kids would be off. Does your earlier proclamation suspending bedtimes during the Finals extend to skipping school on Thursday?
Mayor Mamdani: I have to get back to my legal team before I answer that question, Brian, but I appreciate it.
Lehrer: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Mamdani: Real pleasure. Thank you for having me, Brian.
