Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Good morning. It is always a pleasure to be just a few blocks away from where I grew up and within walking distance of Koronet. However, we are not here today to marvel at the incredible structural feat that is almost certainly New York City's largest slice of pizza. We are here to cut the ribbon on a far more important structural achievement, the completion of 36 newly renovated affordable co-op homes here at ANCP Morningside. I want to acknowledge partners who helped to make this possible.
First and foremost, Karim Hutson, president and CEO of Genesis Companies; Sabrina Lippman, CEO of Habitat for Humanity [and] Manhattan Community Board 10. We also have leaders from our own administration that are here, Michael Garner, chief business diversity officer; we have Patrick Love, HPD deputy commissioner; Cea Weaver, director of the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants with us. And we also have partners across elected office, including Miesha Smith, deputy Manhattan borough president and Assembly Member Jordan Wright, as well as the Office of Council Member Yusef Salaam.
Now, our city is grappling with one of the worst housing crises in American history. A crisis that sits at the very root of the affordability crisis, burdening so many across the city. No cost weighs heavier than housing. Too many have looked at their mortgage payment and utility bill and wondered how they could possibly afford both. Too many sat around the kitchen table at night doing an impossible equation, trying to find a way to stay in the city that they love. And too many have been forced to live in buildings languishing in disrepair with nowhere else to go, no way to find permanent, more stable options.
City Hall will no longer sit idly by as this crisis worsens. Instead, we are taking action and transforming the housing landscape of this city. Two weeks ago, I stood before a group of homeowners and tenants and announced City Hall's housing plan, Block by Block. It is the most ambitious housing plan our city has seen in generations. It will allow us to tackle this crisis with scale and with the urgency that it demands. And it will deliver change to our communities one block at a time. We will fulfill a promise made during the campaign. And build 200,000 affordable and permanently rent-stabilized homes, and we will preserve 200,000 more, two historic initiatives made possible by a $22 billion investment over the next five years.
As we build and preserve these 400,000 homes, we will also make it easier for New Yorkers to buy a home, putting the dream of homeownership within reach for so many to whom it has long been denied. We will double the number of home ownership opportunities in new developments. Through the Open Door program and by supporting community land trusts. We will remove negligent owners and property managers of buildings suffering from chronic neglect or mired in foreclosure and shift ownership to responsible community stewards. And we will launch a new program called Our Home, facilitating the renovation of city stewarded buildings into safe and affordable cooperatives so that building ownership can ultimately be transferred to the residents themselves.
Our Home is modeled on the success of conversions like the one that we stand before today, right here at 321 W 116th Street. The transformation that has taken place on this corner is evidence that when City government is willing to step in and lead boldly, New Yorkers can expect meaningful change and decent, dignified homes. For years, these buildings were left to decay by property owners who had abandoned their tenants. After the city assumed ownership of the buildings. They entered the Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program, or ANCP, where they were converted in partnership with Habitat for Humanity and the developer Genesis into 100 percent affordable co-ops. They are now in the process of being fully renovated.
Many of these homes have been put up for sale via the Housing Connect Lottery at prices between $220,000 and $288,000. To put that into perspective, the medium home price in Morningside Heights is estimated at $841,500. ANCP Morningside is just one example of what becomes possible when government acts with urgency and acts with purpose.
And our work will not stop there. Through the Office of Deed Theft Prevention and the Mortgage Assistance Program, we will ensure the stability of home ownership remains within reach for New Yorkers across the five boroughs. That every person deserves a dignified home is not simply an ideal; it is a responsibility the City can and will fulfill.
We are not just the largest city in the nation, we will also deliver the largest housing transformation our country has ever seen. And if you want to know just how big that is, I have one word for you, Koronet. Thank you. With that being said, I will now pass it over to Assemblymember Jordan Wright.
Assemblymember Jordan Wright: Good morning, everybody. I'm Assemblymember Jordan Wright and I'm a proud, lifelong resident of the village of Harlem. And projects like this mean a lot to me. It's beautiful that Karim and Genesis are able to come together and put together an affordable home ownership opportunity for the people of Harlem. Growing up here, I know for a fact that there's hundreds of thousands of young folks who were born and raised in Harlem who will have nothing but the opportunity to be able to own and continue to live in the villages they called home and raise their children.
And so, the children's children's can raise their family here as well. So, I just want to take a second to say thank you to all of you for being here. I want to say, thank you so much to the mayor, the mayor's team, [the] City Council members team. Karim, thank you so much to you. And I want to take a second to give something to Karim. I don't know if the mayor remembers these, but I have a proclamation from the New York State Assembly. He gets a lot of fun things. So, I want to make sure Karim gets this. He knows “Knicks in 6.” I won't read the whole thing. But just know it says that you are great, you are fantastic, and we'll have a ton of work to continue to do. So, thank you so much, Karim. I appreciate it.
Karim Hutson, President & CEO, Genesis Companies: So, this morning, three things. I woke up and I was like, “Wow, it's Wednesday, I don't have to move the car.” Thank you, mayor, for not changing that. The second thing was my kids said, “I need $100 for school today.” I'm like, “Really?” And then they said, “Dad, we love that you're going to hang out with the mayor, but you need to be dripped out.” And so, I'm coming with the — if you don't know what that means, that means I got to come with it — the garb. But good morning, Mr. Mayor, thank you for being here, to all of my Harlem political leaders, Assemblymember Wright; Deputy Borough President Smith, Wilma from the Councilman's Office and all of our community leaders, thank you so much. I see so many friends here: Tony, my brother Deacon Powell, and to our partners at HPD, Patrick, Habitat, CPC [and] Brandy. My colleagues at Genesis who are here, and our wonderfully dedicated development team. None of us is standing here alone today.
And I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge my friend, the awesome community leader, Ms. Blackwell here from the Fred Sam Association. So, thank you so much for coming. I want to keep my remarks where they belong, which is on the people. You know, these buildings have stood on this block for more than a hundred years. 357 W 115th Street went up around 1903, a stone and brick facade built by people who believed Harlem deserved beautiful things. 321 W 116th Street dates to 1901. When we got to it, the front wall was so far gone, we had to brace it with steel to keep it from coming down into the street.
We made a decision early on; these were not buildings to be cleared and forgotten. At 357 [W 115th Street], we kept the facade and the cornice and where the original corridor tile couldn't be saved, we laid new tile to bring back memories of it. At 321 [W 116th Street], we restored what we could and chose every color to let the building stand proud again. That's not the cheapest way to do this work, but it's the right way. I recall we stood in these halls mourning what could not be preserved. And thus, committed to the history, cut pieces of the original tiles so they could be framed and revered in the appropriate places in this village. A piece hangs here today on these walls, mayor, right there. Thank you, team, for doing this. Look how beautiful that is. Some of these residents, Cea, waited more than 20 years for this day. They stayed through broken promises and bad conditions and stretches where it looked like it would never happen.
In their own words, they held steadfast in the promise of ownership and did not let disillusionment take hold. And to put a sobering point on it, not everyone made it to see this day. We lost residents who got sick, who passed before the doors reopened, who grew old waiting —too frail to return. People who led their tenant associations and never got to put a key in their own front door. This milestone belongs to them as much as to anyone standing here today. That's the part I asked everyone to sit with; because while we debate process and policy, the people waiting on the other side are still, well, waiting. The residents said it best in their own letter, as written by my friend here. They were not interested in political debates; they just wanted a healthy place to call home. When the noise gets too loud, real people pay the cost in years they don't get back.
So, here's what I want you to know about Genesis. We come to do the work. Every day, ready, willing to do the hard parts for this city and for these families. Politics will come and go; this work doesn't change, and neither will we. People say ANCP is the toughest program to work under, and it probably is. But let me say what makes this program special. In much of what we do, we're knocking on doors trying to convince people to let us fix their homes that are falling apart. ANCP is different. Here, the residents prepare themselves for ownership that come to the table not because we convinced them, but because they were determined to be ready for this day. And that, my friends, is the beauty of equity of homeownership. To the new homeowners, this is yours. Thank you and congratulations.
Sabrina Lippman, CEO, Habitat for Humanity New York City and Westchester County: Thank you, Karim. Good morning, everyone. What a beautiful day in Harlem. Thank you all so much for being here. Today is a day of celebration. I have the privilege of being and serving as the CEO of Habitat for Humanity New York City. And today, we're not only celebrating 36 homes that will remain affordable for decades to come [and] the future homeowners that finally have a chance to own in the neighborhood that they helped to build, but a model, a model that this city needs more of, one where affordability is preserved, where ownership is created, and where possibilities are real.
It is such a tremendous honor to stand here alongside you, Mayor Mamdani, Patrick at HPD [and] Deputy Commissioner Cea. It is with the elected officials, with my partner Karim at Genesis, the incredible team at Genesis, the community leaders here today, but most importantly, the future homeowners who are the heart of this work. I want to also take a moment to recognize Habitat staff, the entire development team, because days like this are exciting. We're celebrating a milestone, but what people don't always realize is what it takes to get to this day — the coordination, the problem solving, the patience [and] the persistence. I am so grateful to our team because the care and the commitment that they bring to this work every day should be valued highly. Thank you all so much. Because, you see, at Habitat for Humanity in New York City and Westchester, we believe deeply in the power of home ownership. It creates stability today. You build equity as you stay, and you build a strong foundation for the future. And that impact goes way beyond that one household, because when families can move into home ownership, the whole housing system moves, and it opens more doors for New Yorkers to find a place to call home.
[Crosstalk.]
And that is why this project, ANCP Morningside, matters. And it is why Habitat has continued to evolve with this city. We've been doing this work in this city for 40 years. So, our hundred thousandth Habitat home was right here in Harlem. And now, when you think about back in 1984, when we were going through another playoff run back then, President Carter picked up that hammer in the Lower East Side to build alongside Habitat. And that spirit of President Carter still matters. It does. But today the housing challenges look different, so the work has to look different too. We still build, but we also preserve, we advocate, and we create pathways, including ones like this, where existing housing can become lasting home ownership. And under this administration, with its clear focus on housing, we are excited and ready to do more, to build with communities and alongside the public sector, the private sector [and] the nonprofit sector, because none of us can do this alone, nor should we have to do it alone.
So, in closing, I want to thank the mayor for his leadership and vision, HPD and the state who serve as true stewards of this work, Karim and the family at Genesis for their tremendous partnership, our incredible board of directors, including our board chair, Anthony Montalto, and all of the local stakeholders elected that have come together to see this day become reality. This project is proof that affordable home ownership is possible in New York City and that the people at the center of this work have to stay at the center of the solution because the mission is simple: the people who keep this city running should have and deserve the opportunity to own a piece of it. Thank you and congratulations to the future homeowners.
Karim Hutson: I can't let Keith come up without some introduction. You know, Keith epitomized everything that we are working hard for, mayor. Not only was he determined that him and his fellow residents would see a home ownership day, but he was in the fight to make it happen. Whether it was calling community leaders, calling politicians, he was there and he said, “I am not gonna let this dream die.” And today we're here because you're here. So, congratulations. Welcome to the mic.
Keith Robinson: Good morning, everyone. My name is Keith Robinson, and I am a member, a board member, co-op owner at 357 West 115th Street. And first, I'd like to thank all the entities that were involved in making it happen, particularly HPD, Genesis, UHAB, Habitat, all because we were with a lot of people over the past 30 years who came into our lives and the promises were made and what have you, and we just stayed the course.
But I really want to thank one person, Miss Elsie Brown. She was the mayor of 115th Street between Manhattan and Morningside. And she was my aunt, and she was the person who opened the doors for a lot of the people who made it into that building and who stayed the course for these many years. She was also a community activist here in Harlem and in the South Bronx. She formed the Community Narcotic Action Center for a lot of the veterans who were coming home with PTSD and who were self-medicating with drugs. She was involved with the Marcus Garvey Day Care Center in the South Bronx. And so, she was a leader. She could lead and she had a vision. And she saw this. She saw this coming, [that] gentrification was gonna come and we need to stick together. We need to form an organization, our tenant association. And we stayed the course, and we just followed a path, and we believed in the promise that if we stayed the course, we did what we had to do, we could get ownership. We didn't know it was gonna take 30 years. But what we did was we didn't falter.
And I gotta mention my mother, Ms. Esme Robinson, she's 93, she's been here. And so, it was Ms. Elsie Brown, it was Esme Robinson, and it was Ida Moultrie. Those were the big three that kept that building together. And we just stayed. And there's a lot of the tenants who did not make it due to illness and death. But we knew that if we did what we needed to do, that the dream of ownership would come.
We understood that we could not give up. We seen other buildings [with] people were no longer in the community. This building, we knew tenants who lived here, that they're not going to be moving back in here. And we didn't want that to happen for us. So, we did what we needed to do. And you know, the dream has been realized, and now I know that my family, my kids, my grandkids will have a stake in Harlem for as long as they want them.
Question: So, with this program, I know there's 36 units, and I just learned about the whole ANCP program, but how many more units do we expect throughout the Harlem area?
Mayor Mamdani: This is one part of our Block by Block housing plan, and so in that plan we've talked about 200,000 new homes across the five boroughs, 200,000 existing affordable homes that are currently in a status of disrepair that we would preserve, and I'll pass it over to our team to just add in any specifics beyond that.
Patrick Love, Deputy Commissioner for the Office of Development, HPD: Good morning, everyone. Through our ANCP program, these are former tenant interim lease buildings, and there's approximately 44 of those buildings in city ownership, and we're going to continue working on them and converting them to homeownership opportunities around the city.
Question: You talked about the Our Home program building on the ANCP. Can you talk a little bit about what you've learned from the ANCP program? You know, you’re dealing with often challenging renovations, sometimes [inaudible], incorporate into the new program?
Mayor Mamdani: I think to your point, and I think you heard as well from Karim, the process itself is one that's worthy of reflection. On my first day in office as the mayor of our city, we started a SPEED task force that was directed to investigate all of the procedures by which we build and develop housing, and what we found was frankly staggering. We found that there was a seven-month delay between when a unit was vacant and a tenant could actually move into that unit — on average. We found that it was possible for the city, in partnership with the state, to cut up to two years from an affordable housing project's timeline. I'll pass it over again to the team for any additional details on the program specifically.
Patrick Love: The most important element here, and the mayor talks a lot about this, is keeping residents front and center. And so, we see that with our affordable neighborhood cooperative program, and that's a real lesson learned and something that we'll be doing for our Our Home program moving forward, where we're going to be giving residents that are currently in rental buildings opportunities to own those homes. So, we'll involve them with developer selection; the design process; educating them on what ownership means to them; and really keeping that resident experience front and center as they get these opportunities for home ownership, for long-term stability and wealth creation.
Ahmed Tigani, Commissioner, Department of Buildings: As the mayor stated, it's not only one segment that gets us to the finish line, we also have to think about all the parts of government that makes housing happen, that makes these homes come to fruition. So, the Department of Buildings now realign under the mayor's vision around housing and planning can play a bigger role in getting people into their homes faster. With the existing building code, which is new and goes into effect next year, there is significant education and opportunity to move through the permitting process, the construction process; a more streamlined, clear, and hopefully cost-efficient way of reducing that impact. And so, under this administration, we will be doing extensive outreach, education, and collaboration not only with our sister agencies like HPD — or the state, HGR — but with the industry and with cooperative owners, so that they can not only construct but maintain in the long term, in a more efficient way.
Question: I just want to congratulate him. You're doing a great job.
Mayor Mamdani: Thank you.
Question: [Inaudible] and do the things that you do with the community and the people and that's wonderful — and you're young too. Good job.
Mayor Mamdani: Thank you, ma'am.
Mayor Mamdani: Just before we wrap up, I want to make sure that our state senator can add a few words.
Senator Cordell Cleare: Good morning, everyone. So happy to be here for this building reopening after the decades-long closure. And what's really great about it is to see the people who actually struggled come back to the property. That is the best thing. And the other thing that — the second part of that must be that people from the community are able to participate in this new affordable housing that is available to us. So, I want to congratulate HPD. Ahmed, you're still HPD to me, all the decades of fighting for this property. I remember the day that it closed, and the tenants were asked to go away in the property on 115th Street; and I want to congratulate you for your perseverance and holding on and fighting the good fight and making sure that you can return to this property. What was it, like four mayors? But we're here today. And this is the type of real affordability and real participation that we want; because equally important as affordability is for people from the community — especially those who have struggled, who were here when no one wanted to be here, who fought in the dark period — it is important for them to see the benefit of this housing. So, I want to thank Mayor Mamdani and his team and everyone else who participated and had anything to do with it. Thank you so much.
Mayor Mamdani: Thank you all so much.
Question: First question. It has to do with the fact that a carriage horse died last night, and City Council members are calling for Ryder's law, which would eliminate horse carriages in the city. I'd like your comment on that. My second question has to with security at the Knicks game. Jim Dolan and the Knicks put out a statement calling you and the police commissioner a “party pooper” because you're doing the pros and zones around the garden. So, first rider, second—
Mayor Mamdani: Sounds good. So, I'll start with the first question, then I'll go to the second question. On the first, as I've said, I support removing horse carriages from Central Park. I've also said that I look forward to working with union partners and community leaders to actually deliver on that. And I know that many New Yorkers were disturbed by what they saw yesterday and I'm one of them. And on the second question — yes?
Question: When you say removing from Central Park, would you move them into Central Park, or would you eliminate them from the city altogether?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, I've thought about this mostly in the context of whether carriages should continue within the park. That's something that I would say that it's just — the question at hand right now is of Central Park itself. And I know that's been a long-standing conversation. This is my view on it, and I'm looking forward to working with union leaders and community leaders to deliver on that.
Question: Would you say they shouldn't exist in the city at all?
Mayor Mamdani: I think in Central Park what we've seen is a lot of concern about the welfare of these horses and I want to figure out a way for us to actually get to the end of that path.
Question: So then, now the Knicks. You’re a party pooper, according to Jim Dolan.
Mayor Mamdani: I want to go through a number of things. So, first of all, I know that there are many here in their orange and blue, and we're incredibly excited for the game tonight. The watch party is back on for outside of Madison Square Garden, and I'm thrilled that New Yorkers will once again have the opportunity to come together to cheer on the Knicks and to be part of this historic Finals run. Madison Square Garden applied for a permit for an event the size of 500 to 1000 people for the watch party; we approved the maximum end for 999 attendees.
As my police commissioner outlined at her security briefing on Monday, additional security measures will be in place outside of Madison Square Garden for Game 4 to ensure that everyone can safely enjoy the event. And the security in place this evening is in line with the measures that the NYPD uses for gatherings at this size, whether it be July 4 or New Year's Eve. And what we are speaking about here is really a moment where this team has brought an extraordinary amount of energy, pride, excitement to every corner of our city. And we want to encourage every New Yorker to celebrate in this moment, to do so responsibly, and to be looking out for one another through it all. We want this to be a memorable night for all the right reasons.
Question: Can I just ask you another question about the Knicks. There were a lot of people who were upset with the refereeing at the last game —
Mayor Mamdani: I'm one of them.
Question: If you could talk about that. And if you think that — no, because, I mean, there are some people who think that some steps should be taken about the referees because they don't —
Mayor Mamdani: Look, I would say crime is going down in New York City, but what we saw the other night did feel criminal. And I think when you talk about the absence of a flagrant, when you talked about, I mean, our coach was reminding the refs of how they were calling the game on one side of the court and not the other side of court. So, you know, I understand that this is going to be tough — this is the finals that we're talking about — but you just look at the disparity on fouls that were being called. I think many New Yorkers came away from that game with a very clear reflection of the absence of fair refereeing. I'll leave it there.
Question: With early voting coming up Saturday in the sort of state and federal elections, you've endorsed a slate of candidates. I wanted to ask you particularly about Darializa Avila Chevalier. Were you aware of some of the tweets that her opponent has been making an issue of? And did you see anything in those tweets that concerned you or made you think about endorsing her? And do you want the second question now?
Mayor Mamdani: Yeah, why don't we just go for the second question as well.
Question: And the second question is, you didn't endorse, you did endorse a bunch of candidates, but there were several races you didn't endorse, including Jordan Wright's race in Harlem. I'm wondering, you know, those races where the DSA was involved, how did you decide to endorse in some races, and did you have pressure from DSA to just endorse the full slate of candidates?
Mayor Mamdani: I will tell you that I heard from many New Yorkers around the races that are upcoming. As you said, early voting starts on Saturday. Election day is now less than two weeks away and we're a city of 8.5 million people. There's always going to be at least 8.5 million opinions. I'm proud of the candidates that I did endorse, and we are seeing a number of those candidates, whether at the state level or the congressional level, and I think they're building exactly the right kind of momentum. We know that for many working New Yorkers, they do not have the time to be thinking about elections until we get to the point of elections because they're too busy trying to make ends meet in the nation's most expensive city.
When it comes to Darializa’s campaign for Congress, no, I had not seen those tweets. And what I've heard from her and what I know a lot of others in the district have heard from here is that her views have evolved and that the campaign that she's running on is reflective of what she's going to be fighting for. And frankly, when I see a candidate who has a record like she does of freeing New Yorkers who were unjustly detained by ICE — of standing up for the working person who has often been left out of our politics, especially in a district that really has so many of the same themes that we're speaking of today, a fear of displacement, a fear being pushed out of a place that you've helped to build — I think that she would be an incredible champion for that district and for the city as a whole.
Question: I'm wondering if you had any reaction to the investigation into a no-bid $180,000 contract for foreign language teachers awarded under Chancellor Samuels. Have you spoken with the chancellor about this, and are you at all concerned about his ability to lead the school system as a result of the probe?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, I have appreciated the chancellor's leadership of our school system and I'm proud of the way that he has been delivering for New York City Public School students as well as teachers and families. And I continue to be confident in his leadership. I also take any SCI investigation seriously and will be sure to await the findings of that.
Question: There's an advocacy group pushing for a moratorium on AI and public schools. I understand that guidance and additional [inaudible] are under consideration, but they're pushing for an outright moratorium — [stopping] the use of all AI tools in schools until something more permanent and strong can be developed. Would you consider or support an outright moratorium in schools? They’re calling on you and the chancellor directly for that. And then speaking of races you have endorsed in, are you going to vote for New York-12?
Mayor Mamdani: Yes, I will be voting. I have yet to make a decision on that, but I will be voting. I am a constituent of New York-12, and I know that that debate happened. Was it yesterday evening that it took place? I wasn't able to watch it, but I’ll try and catch some bits and pieces here and there, but like most New Yorkers, I'm still going — I'm one of those classic yet-to-make-a-decision voters that frustrate campaigns so dearly.
To your first question, the last administration hit the gas on AI and allowed it to move forward without the requisite genuine engagement that I think the process deserves. And our administration is going to be taking a different approach. Earlier this year, our New York City Public School System did take the first step to put guardrails in place while developing a policy to protect our students in partnership with families and with communities. And I know the chancellor has been having a number of conversations to that end. We will be putting out something in addition to that soon.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Mayor Mamdani: I think we're considering all of the options that are being put in front of us.
Question: President Trump was at the Knicks game. How much of the loss of that game do you blame on him being there? I also wanted to ask you, yesterday at the budget hearing, the City Council was asking your budget director why a homeless shelter provider at the center of a federal indictment continues to get awarded millions of dollars in contracts with the city. I wanted to get your response since you came into office saying you're gonna root out corruption. And then, lastly, the city's comptroller is putting out some warning signs that next year's budget is already going to be at a gap of $7.1 billion. Your response to that?
Mayor Mamdani: So, I'll work backwards. We know that it is a long-term project to put our city back on firm financial footing, and we are proud of the fact that we closed a $12 billion fiscal deficit in our first year in office. And we also committed to taking the steps along the way to ensure that we build a healthier picture for the long term. One of those steps is actually through our convening of a charter revision commission, COGE, which, if anyone is interested in attending those hearings which are taking place today, tomorrow. Wemby is also invited to come today. You can go to nyc.gov/coge. And the reason I bring that up is that it is driven by a desire to see City government be as careful with its money as working New Yorkers are with theirs. Working New Yorkers deserve to see a City government that is as committed to efficiency, to excellence and to making ends meet in the manner that so many New Yorkers inspire us every day.
On your second question, we are committed to rooting out corruption within City government as well as within our city as a whole. And what we've also seen as part of the reason that we stood here today to speak about our vision on housing was that for far too long, the corruption and the violation of the housing code have been operating with impunity across our city. So, there is no boundary at which we will stop to fight that corruption. I will get back to you on the specific question around that shelter operator.
And then on the first question, you know, I think we had a very tough game. I was very hopeful at the half, and I've made clear my complaints about the refs. I'm hopeful tonight we're going to see a different game. It is a beautiful thing to see how many New Yorkers are excited. And I think you heard it earlier. The last time we were in the finals was 1999. It was against the Spurs, and we're excited to have a chance to run it back. And we hope for 1973 one more time. And this team is just truly an inspiration to this whole city. And I can tell you, no matter what event I am at, someone will whisper in my ear, “Knicks in five. Knicks in six.” And I still have people shouting at me, “Knicks in four!” I try and tell them, you know, how we got to leave that behind. And I think that what's so exciting about this moment, is we know we live in the biggest city in the United States of America. It feels like a small town when the Knicks are doing well. It feels like everybody's thinking about the same thing, everybody's looking forward to the same things. And we're excited for tonight, for New Yorkers who are lucky enough to go watch the game, for the New Yorkers who will go to bars and restaurants, whether in Midtown or anywhere across the five boroughs, to see the game with their friends, or whether they'll just be walking the streets and hoping to hear a loud shout and a yell as we see Landry Shamet put in another three.
Question: Are you going to the game?
Mayor Mamdani: No, no, I'm going to a watch party. I could afford one game.
Question: Gonna be in Brooklyn?
Mayor Mamdani: I've been uptown. I've been to Queens. Now it's time to go to Brooklyn. Thank you all very much. Thank you.
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