Triumph of the underdogs: New Yorkers are reveling in the Knicks and Mamdani

From watching their team win to watching their mayor in the nosebleeds, residents are feeling hopeful

New York City, hardly a city deprived of energy, is having a moment. In the past two weeks, the bars have been even more packed than usual. Several nights a week, usually at around 11pm, there has been a seemingly synchronized honking of horns.

Walking around the city, it doesn’t take long to find out why. People wearing New York Knicks jerseys are high-fiving each other, and Knicks flags fly from cars, windows and bodegas, as people celebrate the team reaching the NBA finals – and having the chance to overcome five decades of (mostly) failure.