New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani saw an outpouring of support online after a report alleged he’s using the NYPD gym for pickup basketball games with friends.
Mamdani with fellow basketball enthusiasts have reportedly been using the Queens gymnasium to play pickup ball as per Politico. “It’s not a rec center. his choice of venue has ruffled feathers, including of one Republican lawmaker While the NYPD gym might offer a more secure option to the Democrat mayor. He and his lackeys should just get memberships to the local YMCA and leave the police academy to the professionals.”
They told the publication that the games had begun around the time the Knicks won the NBA championship and Mamdani attended the July 16 renaming of the facility. The $1 billion gym is named after fallen NYPD cop Steven McDonald. Notably, the NYPD gymnasium is well over 10 miles away from Gracie Mansion, Mamdani’s official residence, which Politico noted is close to several indoor gyms.
The brass should be urging him not to do it,” one person said to the publication. David Carr, the Republican minority leader in the City Council said “It’s ridiculous that, of all of the gyms and basketball courts available across this city, the mayor has to commandeer the one facility that is needed to train our police officers.
An NYPD spokesperson confirmed Mamdani’s use of the gym but said it ‘has not disrupted any recruit training. However, a call from Mamdani’s security team meant that the task had to be put off and the chairs set up had to be moved to accommodate the game. A Mamdani spokesperson added “The mayor would never want to interfere with recruit activities, and if his use of the facility were to cause any disruption, he would find a different place to shoot hoops. Whats the big deal?,” one asked . If this was an October surprise….sorry didn’t work.”
One time, academy staff were reportedly planning for a health and wellness event the next morning, which meant they had to set up about a 1000 chairs. “He and a group of friends play full court in an empty gym at 10 o’clock at night.
Another said “So Mamdani plays basketball at 11pm at a NYPD gym occasionally…so why is this an issue?
