Following the Brazil vs. Morocco World Cup showdown at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last Saturday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani swiftly returned to Manhattan. He was just in time to witness the final moments of the Knicks game and join in the celebrations at a trendy downtown bar.
While Mamdani enjoyed his evening at Le Dive, many fellow World Cup attendees faced a far less glamorous experience. Out of the 80,000 spectators, over 16,000 heeded the city’s recommendation to use shuttle buses from East Rutherford to Manhattan. Unfortunately, their journey was fraught with difficulties. Some were caught in prolonged delays within the Lincoln Tunnel, eventually finding themselves amidst chaos at 42nd Street, near Port Authority, where buses were being set on fire and looted.
“I spent more time on that bus than at the soccer match,” lamented a frustrated rider. This individual had seen Mamdani seated in the VIP section alongside notable figures such as Governor Kathy Hochul and several officials from the Trump administration, including the outspoken FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and State Department Under Secretary Sarah Rogers.
Interestingly, despite making a public display of standing in the less glamorous nosebleed section during last week’s Knicks-Spurs Game 3— a ticket he reportedly acquired at a discount due to his mayoral position— Mamdani had no reservations about enjoying the luxury of the VIP section at the World Cup event.
While Mamdani made a big show of standing in the nosebleeds for last week’s Knicks-Spurs Game 3 — a standing-room-only ticket the New York Post reported he obtained at a discounted rate thanks to his mayoral perch — he had no qualms about mingling in a VIP section at the World Cup match.
And, when the game ended, Mayor Mamdani slipped away with his private motorcade rather than take the shuttle buses his administration, along with Hochul, have repeatedly promoted.
The Democratic leaders promised these shuttles would be the fastest and most reliable option and even converted 42nd Street into a dedicated bus-only corridor from First Avenue to Twelfth Avenue, blocking it to private cars and ride-shares to give the shuttles priority.
The shuttle service, which was arranged by NYNJ Host Committee, initially asked $80 for roundtrip tickets before Hochul secured additional state funds to drop that cost to $20. The free bus-loving Mamdani, of course, had unsuccessfully pushed to make the shuttle buses gratis.
For passengers on the shuttles Saturday, the ride wasn’t worth their time. It took hours to travel the approximately eight miles from the stadium.
The rider I spoke with said a driver told her no one had control of the situation, saying “I can’t make you guys get off the bus, but the police have lost control of 42nd Street … I think you guys should get off.”
When passengers disembarked near 10th Avenue, they found themselves in the middle of the mayhem. Some of the very same yellow shuttle buses used to transport World Cup fans were being mobbed, looted, and torched. Even police on the scene offered little help. One officer reportedly laughed when asked for safety advice and told the rider to “get as far north as you can” and blend in with the celebrating crowd.
“I think it’s insane that people paid all this money for World Cup tickets and then the city fed the World Cup attendees to the rioters,” the source complained. (I’ve reached out to the Mayor’s office for comment.)
The pandemonium stood in stark contrast to the victory laps by Mamdani supporters on social media after the Knicks’ big victory. They hailed him as a savior who had finally brought winning back to New York. You’d think he’d coached the team for how much credit he got.
Indeed, the mayor is an undisputed champ on social media. It’s how he got elected. But in real life, he’s a hypocrite celebrating victories and enjoying his VIP status, while his constituents lose.