Jacob Nakt, a native of the Upper West Side, believes Jalen Brunson could uplift weary Knicks fans. He has started a petition to honor Brunson by temporarily altering the Statue of Liberty, which has already garnered 230 signatures—enough to present to Governor Hochul.
“My plan is to create a giant mask of Jalen Brunson’s face to put on Lady Liberty for a week,” Nakt mentioned ahead of the Eastern tournament’s Game 3 at Madison Square Garden.
“I’ve reached out to Hochul, but there’s no response yet,” he added. “Once we hit 100 signatures, Change.org boosts the visibility and sends it to the governor and others who could help make it happen.”
“So this is real now—it’s more than just a concept.”
Nakt, 24, from Smithtown, Long Island, is a lifelong fan of the Knicks. “The past 24 years have been rough; it’s been disappointing for a lot of my life. But since Jalen joined the team, the whole vibe changed,” he shared. “Even if we don’t win the championship, he has really given us hope.”
He launched the petition on May 2nd after Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, and it picked up traction quickly. “I started telling my friends—who are all huge Knicks fans—and they signed it right away. Then they shared it with their friends,” Nakt explained.
In response to Nakt’s idea, another fan suggested creating a petition to rename the bridges in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Williamsburg after Brunson’s teammates.
