New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani proudly announced a deal Thursday that will allow residents of NYC — and only NYC — to buy 1,000 World Cup tickets for $50 each. And before he even finished his news conference, New Jersey officials made it clear what they thought of an arrangement that leaves them out.

“FIFA not caring about costs for New Jersey residents isn’t new,” said Stephen Sigmund, a spokesperson for N.J. Gov. Mikie Sherrill. “This is just another reason why Governor Sherrill is working hard to lower costs on our own.”

Officials in both states told ESPN that they see the deal as a reward to Mamdani for wooing FIFA and the New York-New Jersey Host Committee, while Sherrill is essentially being punished for her criticisms of both since taking office in January.

The perception that New York is the favored child seems to be a source of pride for both states.

One New Jersey official said the Garden State will soon be offering its own discounted ticket program, but with the support of corporate sponsors, not the host committee or FIFA.

A spokesperson for Mamdani declined comment on the dynamic. Under the deal Mamdani announced Thursday morning, the tickets are coming from the host committee’s own allotment, which were purchased from FIFA at face value.

Two sources familiar with negotiations said the deal needed FIFA’s approval, and that Mamdani had worked with FIFA president Gianni Infantino since March to get it.

“We are making sure that working people will not be priced out of the game that they helped to create,” Mamdani told reporters.

Two New Jersey members of Congress, Democrats Nellie Pou, who represents the district where the stadium is, and Frank Pallone Jr., said they aren’t happy with the deal. They sent a letter to FIFA two weeks ago asking for explanations about FIFA’s ticket policies, which they called “opaque” and “potentially deceptive.”

“This publicity stunt does nothing to address the cost of tickets,” they said in a joint statement Thursday. “One thousand tickets spread over seven games, by our math, amounts to 0.17% of available tickets for those games. FIFA must respond to our inquiry on their questionable ticketing practices and take broader measures now, right now, to lower ticket prices for all the fans. Time is running very short for real action.”

A FIFA source said the deal was between the host committee and Mamdani’s office.

“FIFA was only involved to the extent that it wanted to make sure the discounted tickets went to fans who genuinely planned to attend the games and be in the stadium,” the source said, which the parties satisfied by saying fans won’t get their tickets until they board a bus to the games.

A source with direct knowledge of World Cup planning conversations said the host committee doesn’t agree that anyone is playing favorites.

“In terms of what the asks have been, it’s been different for both sides of the river, but it’s not a reflection of the relationship between the host committee and either side,” the source said. “The host committee is working with the governor’s office and the mayor’s office daily and they just have different priorities. Mamdani ran on this affordability campaign and today he fulfilled a campaign promise.”

For Mamdani’s administration, the deal is a sign that the mayor has been engaged with Infantino with the same patient, head-down diplomacy that led to his surprisingly cordial meetings with President Donald Trump in November and February.

For Sherrill, the alleged slight to New Jersey is the price of a governor standing up against a deal she thought was bad for her state.

Sherrill has been clear that she is not pleased with the deal her administration inherited from the previous governor, fellow Democrat Phil Murphy, whose wife, Tammy, is the chair of the host committee’s board of directors. Sherrill said the original deal signed by then-Gov. Murphy left New Jersey residents with too much of the cost of transportation and security.

In his statement on Sherrill’s behalf, Sigmund trumpeted steps she has taken, “including securing $3.6 million to discount tickets for NJ Transit riders whose commutes are impacted by the World Cup games, and why we are maximizing the economic benefits and excitement of the games throughout the State.”

Soon after taking office, Sherrill canceled the planned fanfest in Liberty State Park, in part because she felt the event would be more accessible to New Yorkers arriving by boat than New Jersey drivers negotiating what can be brutal traffic to the park, as ESPN recently reported. Instead, she announced that the state would reallocate $5 million for the fanfest to a series of community-based events around the state.

Sherrill’s administration also raised the cost of a round trip from Manhattan’s Penn Station to $98 dollars on game days, drawing the ire of New Yorkers and international fans. Sherrill has said the burden for an estimated $48 million in additional transit costs should be borne by visitors, not New Jersey residents.

Under the ticket program announced Thursday, New Yorkers will be able to register for a drawing that will take place Monday morning. The 1,000 tickets will be spread over the seven games leading up to the final, which will also be played in New Jersey. The city will provide free bus transportation for those fans.

As of Thursday morning, the cheapest tickets available for New York-New Jersey through FIFA’s last-minute direct sales website were $1,550 to see Norway play Senegal in the group stage. There are more affordable tickets available on the FIFA Marketplace — the governing body’s resale site — where a seat for Norway-Senegal can be purchased for under $400.

Two-minute read

• NJ Transit is offering deals and increasing services for the Memorial Day weekend.
• The Family SuperSaver Fare allows two children 11 and under to ride free with a paying adult.
• Rail, light rail, and bus services will operate on modified schedules throughout the holiday weekend.

Want to save on gas and avoid Memorial Day weekend traffic? NJ Transit is offering deals and increasing services on certain trains and buses.

With the Family SuperSaver Fare, two kids 11 and under can ride for free with each fare-paying adult. The program, which is valid every weekend, is extended to accommodate early getaways this Memorial Day weekend. It begins Friday, May 22 at 7 p.m. and ends Tuesday, May 26 at 6 a.m. 

Rail, light rail and buses will operate on a modified schedule. 

NJ Transit pilots new bus signs: Will it improve real-time info?

Rail

Extra outbound trains on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast, Raritan Valley, Morris and Essex and Port Jervis lines will run on Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. After 4 p.m., certain Northeast Corridor, New Jersey Coast and Raritan Valley lines will be canceled or combined, according to an NJ Transit press release. 

On Saturday, Sunday and Monday, trains will run on a regular weekend schedule. The Bay Head-Long Branch shuttle will increase to hourly services from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. 

Frustrated using NJ Transit’s app? It’s getting these upgrades

Buses

On Friday starting at 12 p.m., certain bus routes will run extra buses from Port Authority Bus Terminal, while other routes will be cancelled. 

A small earthquake hit New Jersey Tuesday afternoon and I knew nothing. It happened about 1:30pm when a magnitude 1.8 tremor centered around a mile southeast of Long Valley in Washington Township hit a little over 3 miles below ground. That’s in Morris County.

It shook some buildings there, and the U. S. Geological Survey received 55 reports from folks in Morris County, Hunterdon County, Somerset County, and Essex County.

Where I was in Mercer County? Nothing. Squat. Nada.

To be honest, the only one I ever felt in New Jersey was several years ago. It was April 5, 2024 when a 4.8 quake hit Tewksbury, New Jersey and was felt from Virginia to Maine. But for being felt so far and wide it did very little actual damage.

I was living in Flemington at the time and was on the second floor of my home when it struck at 10:23 in the morning. It felt like both a jarring and swaying simultaneously almost as if a truck had hit the house.

Now that was exciting. It was the talk of the day. I felt part of something. A communal experience.

Years before a quake hit New Jersey when I was inside the radio station and it was the opposite experience. The part of the building I was in felt nothing. Zero. But the other end of the building? Everyone felt it.

Co-workers ran around excitedly asking each other if they felt it, was it a quake, etc.. Simply put, it was a party I wasn’t invited to.

As has been every other New Jersey quake. Talk about fear of missing out. Even in 1994 when I had been living in Southern California and the great Northridge quake hit, I had just moved out a scant number of days before taking a job in Jersey.

I missed that excitement too. But probably for the better, I admit, because it was a 6.7 that killed 60 people and injured thousands. Numerous buildings were destroyed or damaged to the tune of billions of dollars.

As scary as that is, and as lucky as I was to have missed it by just a week, there was still this feeling of a monumental community event that I was cut off from. Again, FOMO.

I should feel happy to have missed it, but don’t we all crave drama just a little? Be careful what we wish for I suppose.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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