President Donald Trump’s presence at Game 3 of the NBA Finals was felt long before he arrived in Manhattan. For many fans — and a lot of people trying to travel through Midtown Monday — it amounted to a headache.
Hundreds of officers were stationed outside of MSG ahead of the game on Monday afternoon in anticipation of Trump’s attendance. Authorities closed off a 10-block radius around Madison Square Garden to traffic and pedestrians. Only those with tickets to either the game or trains leaving Penn Station would be allowed into the zone.
In rush hour, the area around the arena got increasingly hectic and crowded, with frustrated pedestrians unsure of where to turn amid the security chokeholds. Police erected metal detectors along streets outside the Garden and fielded questions from commuters trying to find out how they could get to their trains or their jobs.
The city also canceled the watch party outside of the arena. Instead, fans were directed to watch parties in Central Park, Brooklyn Bowl and Bryant Park. The Bryant Park event, which will host up to 5,000 people and is free with registration, was announced early Monday. The New York Waterway announced Pier 11 would be shut down for a bit more than an hour in the early evening to accommodate Trump’s arrival.
Vishal Shah said he was planning to attend the watch party outside the arena, but had to pivot after the watch party was canceled.
The very, very crowded scene outside of Madison Square Garden shortly before 5 p.m. Monday.
“I was a little bummed, 'cause it's the first home game here, and then Trump comes and ruins it all. I'm not a fan of him to begin with, so now it's even worse,” Shah said, speaking on West 33rd Street across from MSG. “I hope he gets a big boo.”
A gate on West 33rd Street between 7th and 8th avenues kept people at a distance from the arena on Monday afternoon. Nine-year-old Gianni Castillo watched the entrance of MSG, gripping and staring through the gate, hoping to catch a glimpse of guard Jalen Brunson.
“ Today I came here to come and see the players, but it's caged up,” Castillo said. “If [Trump] wasn't here, a lot of people would maybe be able to say hi, get some pictures, or get some signatures. But still, for the people inside, they might be able to take some pictures or pictures of him. So it's kind of like a mixed feeling.”
Lifelong fan Eddie Vega said he was looking forward to watching the game in the comfort of his own home, adding he wasn’t happy Trump would be in attendance at the arena. Vega was an adolescent when the Knicks won their last championship in 1973.
Hundreds of police officers massed around Madison Square Garden by early Monday afternoon, hours before President Donald Trump was expected to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
“He said he made a lot of bad comments about the NBA, so I don't understand. Why would he come?” Vega said. “If you're not really a fan, why show up? Are you trying to distract New York? It's not gonna happen.”
Yvette Davis works as a bathroom attendant at MSG and said the extra security was necessary for the president’s arrival, citing rowdy previous watch parties. But still, she said, “he could've stayed home if he wanted to and watch it on the big screen, you know?”
“But I understand it,” Davis said. “He wanted to be in the house, who wouldn't? And he's more than welcome to come.”
Liana Gutierrez was commuting on Monday, planning to catch a subway from 34th Street.
“It’s too much things at the same time, and I have to take my train,” she said. “ It's OK, I have enough time.“
Yvette Davis waited in a long line of fellow MSG employees and others to get inside Monday.
The change in plans also affected local businesses. Conor Duffin, manager at nearby watering hole Avenida, said the bar is going to do a lot less business than he was previously expecting.
“ Hopefully, once the president does go into the Garden, they'll open it up a little bit, but they have changed the goalpost like three or four times so far today,” he said. “[There was] Information really early on that it would be opened up and like a semi-lockdown, now it's a total lockdown, so I'm praying that they change their mind again and kinda open it up once he goes in.”
Heading into the third game of the finals, the Knicks are on a 13-game winning streak and two wins away from taking the championship.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct a notation on a quote by Gianni Castillo, because of an editing error.
