Less than a week ago, Zohran Mamdani hinted at introducing an executive order for a special cause. The NYC Mayor has turned into a mainstay, cheering for Jalen Brunson and the Knicks ever since the playoffs began. He even sneaked into a game during the Conference Finals and paid face value for his tickets. But Mamdani has taken it to the next level. On Monday morning at City Hall, he made his decision official, alongside a group of local schoolchildren.

“Okay, my friends, the executive order is signed, bedtime is repealed,” Mamdani announced. “All of you can watch the finals!”

Before signing, the mayor jokingly asked the kids, “Who here was alive in 1999?” and one of them openly admitted that they didn’t know their birth year! And as soon as the tongue-in-cheek symbolic order was signed, even the schoolchildren endorsed the document with their handprints.

Mamdani tweeted about this, saying that as mayor, he is required to make “many difficult decisions,” but this one for the kids was “not one of them.” The Knicks are going to need that support because, despite their 11-0 playoff run, they remain underdogs against San Antonio. And we all remember how Victor Wembanyama and Co. have the support of the Salesian Sisters, lovingly known as the ‘Spurs Nuns.’

The paperwork behind the mayor’s executive order has been in the works for days. That’s because last week, Mamdani was asked whether he had considered turning some of the Finals game days into public holidays altogether. While something of that scale might not be too viable, he still didn’t flat-out reject the idea.

“We’re looking into an executive order to let the kids stay up late, but I’ll leave it at that,” Mamdani hinted, letting in the junior New Yorkers on a little surprise. This serves as a light-hearted celebration of the Knicks’ first Finals appearance since 1999. Since the Games begin at 8:30 PM ET, parents wouldn’t have allowed their kids to stay up late, but the youngest generation now has the mayor on their side. There is some good news for parents, though: Games 2, 5, and 7 are scheduled for non-school nights.

The upcoming NBA Finals series is such a big event in the city that Donald Trump, who is a Knicks fan, has expressed interest in attending a home game or two. But when a TMZ reporter asked the mayor whether he’d accompany the POTUS courtside, Mamdani made it clear, “If I go to the game, I’ll be doing so separately.” The Mayor also said that he didn’t want to “make a fool” of himself trying to predict how New Yorkers might react to Trump.

Whether the president attends a game for the first time since 2014 or not is something that remains to be seen. Mamdani, though, has another decision on his hands regarding the Police Department’s suspension of watch parties right outside MSG for safety reasons. Six arrests were made during the last round. Thousands of people gathering is also causing congestion for commuters. Soon after the ban, though, the mayor broke his silence, assuring his locals that he was working toward a solution.

“We’re going to have a lot of viewing parties for the finals,” Mamdani told PIX11’s Henry Rosoff. “We’re going to figure out where they are.”

So, while everybody awaits a positive answer, one thing most New Yorkers are currently talking about is Mamdani’s new order, which is in favor of the city’s children.

Fans celebrate Zohran Mamdani’s “peak New York energy” amid groundbreaking decision

The Knicks last won the championship in 1973, and the decades-long wait could end after their next four wins. Regardless, whatever the Knicks do is bound to be etched in the history books for sure.

A fan encapsulated it perfectly, posting, “Haha man, only in New York 😂 Finally a mayor who gets it — let the kids watch the Knicks make history. Bedtime can wait till June. GO NYK!”

CBS News even interviewed Stacy Bartolota, a mother who was not really thrilled… “Oh geez. I mean, that’s tough for us because we’re trying to get everything fit into one day,” Stacy said. “And then for them to have a late night on a school night is pretty tough.”

It’s definitely tough for the parents, but the Knicks’ playoff run is taking precedence over everything here.

“NY bedtime got subbed out… Knicks are running the city on playoff minutes,” a fan commented. And another one added, “That’s peak New York energy right there 😭.”

By now, we have seen the Knicks fans taking over away arenas. They did it in Atlanta, in Philadelphia, and even in Cleveland. It will be interesting to see if the fans make it all the way to San Antonio for Games 1 and 2. It is highly likely to happen because round-trip fares for New Yorkers may be cheaper than the get-in price for Madison Square Garden, as has been the trend this postseason.

A netizen wrote, “When your city is in the Finals, even bedtime becomes a negotiation 😂.”

So, the symbolic order is not just for parents to allow their children to stay awake; even the teachers have to be ready…

“Imagine telling your teacher you stayed up because the mayor said it was okay😂🏀,” noted another fan.

It’s going to be a rematch of the 1999 Finals, when Rick Brunson was on the team, and they lost. But now his son is the captain of the ship. Jalen Brunson and his Villanova-heavy team sure have the pedigree to turn it around for the sweet win.