Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Hello, New York City, and welcome back to “The Morning Pitch.” You give us five minutes; we'll give you the World Cup. Before we get into what's expected to be a heated contest between France and Sweden, I want to discuss the extreme heat expected to hit New York City this week. These are extremely dangerous conditions. Temperatures will likely climb into the high 90s and triple digits. With humidity, it will feel even hotter, with the heat index peaking on Friday.
If the forecast holds, Thursday would be the first 100-degree day recorded in Central Park since July 18, 2012. As we prepare for this heat wave, I've activated the city's Heat Emergency Plan. We will open hundreds of cooling centers across the five boroughs beginning Wednesday. As they come online, they will be added to a map of cooling centers available at nyc.gov/beattheheat. Today, I'm asking every New Yorker to make a heat plan before the worst of it arrives. Start figuring out your work and childcare arrangements. Know where you will go to stay cool, and check on friends and family, including older neighbors, people with disabilities and underlying health conditions, and anyone without air conditioning.
And if you are an employer and have not yet created a heat illness plan for your workforce, now is the time. Measures like ensuring access to drinking water, cool rest areas, increased breaks and rescheduling strenuous work can make all the difference. If you are a worker, look out for the signs of heat illness and look out for one another. If you see someone outside and vulnerable to this heat, call 311 and an outreach team will be sent to help.
If you or someone you know has hot, dry skin, trouble breathing, rapid heart rate, confusion, disorientation, dizziness, nausea or vomiting — call 911 immediately. Our city has faced heat like this before, and each time, we've gotten through it by looking out for one another. This week will be no different. Make a plan, stay informed and text NOTIFYNYC to 692-692 to sign up for emergency updates.
Now, let's talk football. This afternoon at 5 p.m., France and Sweden will face off in a knockout match at New York-New Jersey Stadium. The stakes are real now. Someone will be flying home. Will Mbappé and Dembélé keep scoring and send the Swedes packing? Or will Isak and Gyökeres lead their team to a stunning upset over the tournament favorites? Only time will tell — and VAR. As fans prepare to travel across the Hudson, here's the information you need to get there safely.
Let's start with the forecast. It's going to be hot, but not as hot as later in the week. Temperatures will reach up to 86 degrees. Winds will be mild, and there is a 35 percent chance of light rain in the early evening. Make sure you drink lots of water. Remember, once you arrive at New York-New Jersey Stadium, you will be restricted to one disposable plastic water bottle. And if you are bringing a bag, make sure that it's both see-through and adheres to size restrictions.
For those traveling to the stadium, I encourage you to rely on public transit. While bus shuttles are sold out, you can still ride New Jersey Transit. Buy your ticket in advance at njtworldcup.com. As you plan your journey, make sure to budget enough time for the trip. I want to urge New Yorkers not to drive into Midtown today. We are expecting heavy traffic and significant travel delays. Leave the car at home. Take the subway, ride a bike or consider walking.
Bus and shuttle corridors and lanes will begin at 11 a.m. and remain in effect until 11 p.m. 5th and 6th Avenues from 42nd Street to 59th Street will be dedicated to buses and shuttles, as will 42nd Street from 1st to 12th Avenue, West 40th Street between 8th and 11th Avenues, and West 41st Street between 8th and 10th Avenues. If you're planning on watching anywhere in the five boroughs, make sure you take advantage of the $26 drink-and-meal deal program being offered by more than 900 restaurants and bars. Go to nyctourism.com and scroll down to the Five Borough Winners Special to find the full list.
I'll be honest, I'm thinking about the Swedes today. This French team, it's hard to find a weakness. They have world-class players on the bench. When they are in form, it is hard to think of anyone who can stop them. But I don't actually want to talk about the stars of today. I want to talk about a French legend who will likely never be eclipsed. A man whose nickname is still known by every child in France two decades after he hung up his boots. A player who meant something to every fan of the beautiful game. Zinedine Zidane. Zizou.
Zizou is a man forever immortalized in World Cup history. That Panenka against Buffon. His masterclass against Brazil in the ‘98 final. The headbutt. At the peak of his powers, men with more hair than Minoxidil could dream of were willingly going bald. He was ranked France's favorite person for six consecutive years. But Zizou meant so much more than his majestic first touch and his petit pont in midfield. For someone like me, whose first memories of football are of Zidane and his prime, he was living, breathing proof that an immigrant could be welcomed. That a Muslim name could be sung. That someone could begin as the other and end up as someone that people look to for leadership.
Who else would I watch a documentary of that was just 90 minutes of following him around on the pitch? Perfection was expected of Zidane. As one journalist wrote, “In a country that has built itself on a rhetoric of unity, Zidane became the ideal: successful, proud but apolitical, visible yet quiet.” It was an impossible expectation to fulfill. One that demanded he stay silent on politics and religion, remain calm and measured at all moments.
And it was why his headbutt of Materazzi, which was justified if you ask me, shocked so many. And yet today, as the French line up against the Swedes, 20 years after Zizou was sent off in that fateful final, his legacy endures. This is a team with stars like Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembélé, who play with Zizou's flair. A team full of immigrants or children of immigrants. All of whom are French. All of whom feel like they belong. Because players like Zizou paved the way. Year after year, World Cup after World Cup, Zinedine Zidane showed us what greatness looked like. And for that, we will be forever grateful. Enjoy the match, New York.