By Joe Anuta and Colin DeVries
Flushing residents packed into a neighborhood mall Friday night to watch New York Knicks superstar Jeremy Lin, just hours after Time Warner Cable and Madison Square Garden reached an accord allowing fans to watch games from home.
The contract between the cable company and MSG had run out Dec. 31, which meant many Queens residents could not see the Knicks play, which led some civic leaders to take matters into their own hands.
Fred Fu, head of the Flushing Development Center, organized a viewing of the game Friday night at Flushing Mall, at 135-20 39th Ave.
The Knicks took on the New Orleans Hornets in Madison Square Garden and nearly 500 people showed up at the mall to watch.
Flushing resident Ellen Chiu came out to watch, since she and Lin share a common heritage.
“I’m from Taiwan, so it’s more exciting for me,” she said.
She said Lin’s rise as an Asian-American athlete has brought many nationalities together in New York. Lin’s parents are from Taiwan, though the 23-year-old was born in Los Angeles.
Lin is the only American of Asian descent playing in the NBA, although other stars like Yao Ming from China have grabbed headlines in the past.
Lin has become a star to many young Asian Americans in Flushing, according to 19-year-old Nena Kunnatee, who was in the Modell’s Sporting Goods store on Main Street earlier Friday purchasing some Lin gear.
“For Flushing, it’s a dream come true,” she said in the midst of buying several T-shirts with Lin’s No. 17 on them. “He is a great addition, and he has done a lot of good stuff.”
The frenzy surrounding the overnight sensation did not spare politicians, either.
City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) said politicians should normally stay out of business decisions, but since choices among cable providers are limited, he said lawmakers had to step in.
“Normally I am a big fan of the free market and I would agree that we should allow that to handle these disputes because people have choices,” he said.
Vallone repeatedly commented on the contract negotiations on his Facebook page before they were resolved, at one point saying that he was going to take his daughters to Applebee’s, which showed the games, and have what he called the “sizzling Asian special.”
After everything was settled, Vallone said the success of Lin provided pressure to resolve the face-off between Time Warner and MSG.
Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) also got in on the action, going so far as to send letters to the two sides warning them they would face a public hearing.
After the deal was struck, Quinn released a statement commending the two sides on finally hammering out a solution.
“I want to thank the MSG Network and Time Warner Cable for coming to a deal that will put the Knicks and the Rangers back on TV,” she said in a statement. “Now a million more New Yorkers will be able to go Linsane in the privacy of their own living room.”
Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
