Days after reports claimed that Taylor Swift cost New York taxpayers a whopping $1 million to host her wedding to Travis Kelce in New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has spoken out to set the record straight.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirms that Taylor Swift has already paid in New York
At a news conference Friday, Mamdani questioned whether the singer would reimburse the city for the expenses of her July 3 wedding at Madison Square Garden. Amid criticism of the public cost of policing the high-profile event, Mamdani confirmed Taylor had “already paid” the city. “Taylor Swift will pay … she has already paid the cost of the permit that was filed, which was over $160,000 for that event and the response to that event. And that was a permit that was finalized in the days just before the event itself,” Mamdani said in a video posted by CSPAN.Watch: Mayor Zohran Mamdani defends Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift paid US$160,000 for the permit
When asked if the $160,000 only covered the permit fee or also included overtime costs for the New York Police Department (NYPD), the mayor clarified that the amount referred to the permit fee.Addressing the city’s approach to hosting large-scale events, Mamdani said, “Now when it comes to this summer, as State Senator Gonzales has heard, it’s a summer where we’ve not only had a state championship in 53 years, the World Cup, the 250th anniversary of our nation, a series of what are historical and generational events that we would have made clear. the city will be able to do. However, this would not limit a New Yorker’s ability to go to the park, to have a barbecue, to have many of the things that were initially feared.”
About the wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
Swift and Kelce tied the knot last Friday in a grand ceremony at Madison Square Garden. The ceremony was attended by around 1,000 guests, including several A-list celebrities from Hollywood, music, sports, television and other close family and friends. For the event, the singer requested permission to close certain roads and put in place elaborate security measures to ensure the privacy of the wedding, which took place on one of the busiest weekends.Media reports have estimated the multi-day wedding celebrations to cost between $15 million and $20 million, making it one of the most expensive celebrity weddings in recent years.