{"id":2400,"date":"2026-06-18T22:37:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T22:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2400"},"modified":"2026-06-18T22:37:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T22:37:09","slug":"mamdani-soaks-up-spotlight-with-droning-nearly-10-minute-speech-at-knicks-nyc-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2400","title":{"rendered":"Mamdani soaks up spotlight with droning, nearly 10-minute speech at Knicks NYC ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Mayor Zohran Mamdani soaked up the spotlight during the Knicks\u2019 tribute at City Hall Thursday \u2014 droning on for nearly 10 minutes after partying with the NBA champions on a parade float.<\/p>\n

Read more Jalen Brunson lifts Larry O\u2019Brien trophy alongside wife, daughter at Knicks parade<\/a><\/p>\n

Hizzoner was front and center as the hometown team\u2019s first-ever ticker-tape parade made its way up Broadway, hanging around Knicks stars including Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby onboard a float, along with Gov. Kathy Hochul.<\/p>\n

The self-proclaimed diehard Knicks fan mayor even posed with the lucky orange purse owned by Towns\u2019 fianc\u00e9e Jordyn Woods.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Knicks did not just win for New York City, they won like New York City,\u201d Mamdani, wearing a Josh Hart jersey beneath his blazer \u2014 but over his white button down shirt and orange tie \u2014 later told the crowd at City Hall Plaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is New York if not your back up against the wall, a dream that feels just out of reach, a rent payment that you don\u2019t know how you\u2019re going to make?\u201d<\/p>\n

The democratic socialist went on for eight minutes and 19 seconds \u2013 more than twice as long as any other speaker and more than a third of the time allotted for speeches delivered during the ceremony.<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s speech was even longer than the time it took for him to hand out the keys to the city to Knicks owner James Dolan and the team members, which lasted an efficient 7 minutes and 35 seconds.<\/p>\n

Knicks personnel who delivered speeches to adoring fans \u2014 and the about 2,000 seated attendees in the ticketed section \u2014 included Dolan, team president Leon Rose, head coach Mike Brown and star point guard Jalen Brunson.<\/p>\n

Brown gave the second longest speech on the day, though it clocked in at just under four minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Cops stop Knicks\u2019 Tyler Kolek thinking he\u2019s a fan during parade<\/a><\/p>\n

The rest of the time was allotted to politicians, including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who bizarrely brought up his 50th birthday on May 11 during his one minute and 24 second-long address.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody, this is what it\u2019s all about \u2014 the New York Knicks,\u201d Williams giddily said. \u201cAnd I can\u2019t wait to talk to my younger self, and I\u2019m gonna tell you, hold on, because on your 50th birthday they\u2019re gonna give you a championship, and you\u2019re gonna be a citywide elected official on this stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s remarks, meanwhile, were focused on Knicks history as he recapped the current team\u2019s wild ride to an NBA Finals Championship and paid homage to the series of ex-players who graced the court at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s predecessors, Eric Adams and Bill de Blasio, gave much shorter speeches at post-ticker-tape parade sports celebrations during their respective terms.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Adams spoke for almost two minutes when the New York Liberty were hailed in 2024 and de Blasio spoke for a little more than four and half minutes at the parade for the US women\u2019s soccer team in 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gov. Kathy Hochul declined to speak at all in an election year Thursday, with her office stressing the day was about the team. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Other elected officials to take the microphone included City Comptroller Mark Levine and City Council Speaker Julie Menin.<\/p>\n

At least one fan watching the ceremony on TV at a nearby bar appeared confused by the parade of political speeches, asking about Menin, \u201cWho is she?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Knicks heralded as kings of NYC as millions attend estimated largest ticker-tape parade \u2014 and party \u2014 in city\u2019s history<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Additional reporting by Matthew Fischetti, Vaughn Golden and Steven Vago<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mayor Zohran Mamdani was more than happy to soak up the spotlight as the Knicks were crowned the kings of New York during Thursday\u2019s City Hall ceremony.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro"],"yoast_head":"\nMamdani soaks up spotlight with droning, nearly 10-minute speech at Knicks NYC ceremony - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2400\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mamdani soaks up spotlight with droning, nearly 10-minute speech at Knicks NYC ceremony - 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