Glenn Nocera For Brooklyn Borough President.

Eric Adams held a press conference in front of Madison Square Garden yesterday calling for the Garden to drop the criminal charges and lift the indefinite ban from MSG against former Knicks player Charles Oakley.

At this conference Mr. Adams admitted that he has yet to speak to the Knicks owner Mr. James Dolan, to get MSGs version of the story, and plans to do so today. Which begs the question, what is Mr. Adams basing his request to ignore Mr Oakleys behavior on, and how do you have a press conference calling for action without having all the facts in place?

We all saw the video of an agitated Mr. Oakley physically assaulting members of MSG Security staff. Madison Square Garden also released statements from witnesses that support the need for security intervention with Mr. Oakley. Mr. Oakley was confronted asked to leave the area and he and his actions escalated the situation.

Mr. Adams equated this incident with Mr. Oakley to “Eric Garner without the choke hold” that is a huge insult to the hardworking security men and women who work hard every day to ensure that thousands of people have a safe and enjoyable experience at Madison Square Garden.

As a City leader Mr. Adams words have influence, so for him to characterize MSG security as equal in any way to Eric Garner is dangerous. To do so without all of the facts is incomprehensible and unprofessional.

It is my hope that when Mr. Adams gets all the facts in this case that he retracts his prior statement and apologizes to the hard working Men and Women of Madison Square Garden.

Glenn P. Nocera
prospective candidate for Brooklyn Borough President.