Knicks, World Cup fans converge at Penn Station on Saturday

A clash of sports fans calmed slightly by 4 p.m. at Penn Station Saturday. Without travelers descending the main entrance into Penn, the Long Island Rail Road section of the transit hub was operating smoothly.

Some World Cup attendees were still sprinkling through, though many had already taken the train or a shuttle bus to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for the 6 p.m. match between Brazil and Morocco. In their place, the number of Knicks fans was increasing.

With some exits remaining closed until around 6 p.m., people traveling through Penn Station should plan for delays. Additionally, a “frozen zone” surrounding the Garden was set to be in place beginning at 4 p.m., the NYPD said. That secure area will be from West 29th Street to West 35th Street, between Sixth and Eighth Avenues.

“Unless you are going to the concert at MSG, restaurant/bar or traveling through the train station, you should avoid this area,” the NYPD wrote on social media.

Mets fans heading to the 4 p.m. game at Citi Field in Queens passed Brazil and Morocco fans making their way to New Jersey and Knicks fans bracing for the team’s potential first championship since 1973.

Cameron Appel, 30, and Claire Schwark, 30, of Manhattan, plan to have a sports-packed day — first attending the Mets game before going to a bar in Long Island City to watch the Knicks.

“We’re willing for it to just take a while,” Appel said of the travel.

“It’s a once in a lifetime experience,” Schwark said.

The transit hub was seeing a flurry of soccer fans making their way to New Jersey and scores of Knicks fans coming into the city for watch parties for the NBA Finals Game 5 between the Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. A Knicks win would crown the team the champs.

After earlier scenes of chaos spurred by closures of some NJ Transit entrances, things began moving smoother in Penn Station as the afternoon moved on. However, traffic is likely to increase as the evening approaches.

Nick Stark, 24, of New Jersey, said he planned to find a bar in Manhattan to watch the game, adding, “it’s going to be nuts.”

How will he get back home?

“I’m not even thinking about going back,” Stark said.

Some are going to avoid the city chaos and the watch the game from the comfort of their homes.

Wayne Shink, 74, of Long Beach, has been watching the Knicks for years and went to a game in Atlanta earlier in the playoffs. He plans to watch this one from his couch.

Shink was a fan when the championship in 1973 but said, “This is the one I’m going to remember.”

Trying to get down to Penn Station from its main entrance? Not so fast. Commuters were being directed towards 7th and 34th to get down into the LIRR. Multiple closures are going to remain in effect until the World Cup match starts at 6 p.m.

Aiden Lefferts, 23, of New Jersey, took NJ Transit into the city to go to the bar for the Knicks game but doesn’t plan on battling the chaos for the commute home.

“I’ll probably just sleep in the city,” Lefferts said.

There was an air of excitement under Madison Square Garden as the clock ticked closer to game time.

“Knicks in five,” shouted one fan moving through a Penn Station concourse.

Saturday developed from a busier-than-normal morning to a chaotic afternoon, as escalators from the LIRR section of Penn Station leading to NJ Transit were cordoned off. At street level, the NJ Transit entrance at West 31st Street was closed. Commuters were being sent to the PATH train as an alternative.

The West 32nd Street entrance was also closed to regular travelers.

Fans going to the game were being directed down West 32nd Street to go through metal detectors before re-crossing Seventh Avenue and heading into NJ Transit — akin to the security measures in place for recent Knicks games.

Isabel Freitas, of Westchester, was one of the first people through the security lines. After completing that check, she was given a wristband and told to go back to the NJ Transit entrance at West 32nd Street.

But when a group of fans made it through those measures at around 1 p.m. to the entrance, they were stopped by confused officers who weren't sure if they were allowed to let fans through and into the hub.

About 10 minutes later, fans with wristbands were let into NJ Transit. Immediately, both fanbases began opposing chants.

Morning ran smoothly

In the morning hours, the transit hub appeared to be running smoothly.

Hakima Tarek, of Boston, was waiting for her NJ Transit train around 11 a.m. and was confident the trip would go well after she went to the Morocco-Norway game on June 7 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

"It was nice," Tarek said. "It was easy."

Mets fans traveling through Penn Station for the 4 p.m. game were bracing for a chaotic scene but were met with a mostly smooth ride.

Silas and Linda Jaworowicz, of New Jersey, wearing Mets T-shirts, came from across the water and were expecting the scene to be more hectic when they arrived.

"We were expecting it to be a lot worse," Linda Jaworowicz said.

The way home could get messier.

"I'm holding my breath," she said.

As it neared noon, fans wearing Knicks jerseys began to appear.

James Fusco, 20, of Medford, said he planned to attend a watch party, adding, "hopefully we don't get jam packed" on a train back home.

"I'm just going to ride the LIRR and count my blessings," Fusco said.

That ride home could become complicated. With the Knicks game starting at 8:30 p.m. and a concert starting at 8 p.m., the end of both of those events could make for cramped travel. A repeat of the NYPD's "frozen zone" surrounding the arena, is set to add to the burden.

How to get there

With a cellphone in hand, Karim Chlaghmo, 46, of Morocco, was asking an MTA employee in Penn Station where he could find shuttle buses to the game. Wearing the country's jersey alongside his 12-year-old son, Chlaghmo said he was extremely nervous about traveling to the game.

The pair took a flight in from Chicago after an earlier flight was canceled and he landed in a different airport than he expected. Still, he planned to take the day in stride.

"It's an honor to walk the airport, the train station," Chlaghmo said, noting that people have been wishing the team luck when they see him and his son wearing their Morocco jerseys. "Maybe 10 years ago, nobody would know the jersey."

Adi Peer, 21, and Gal Peer, 18, of Israel, were wearing the bright yellow jerseys of Brazil outside Madison Square Garden just before 11 a.m. and were heading to Grand Central Station to take a shuttle bus to the game — aiming to get to the stadium by 3 p.m.

"We would like to be there early to feel the atmosphere before the game," Adi Peer said.

An MTA employee near the Long Island Rail Road tracks was handing out a World Cup travel guide with a QR code that directed fans to a page outlining ways to get to the stadium and other fan events.

Paul Fricovsky, 46, of New Jersey, was headed to a World Cup watch party at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and took NJ Transit into Penn Station early before waiting for his LIRR track around 10:15 a.m.

"I built it up in my head that I would be disgusted with the entire experience," Fricovsky said. "Getting here wasn't as bad as I expected."

Fans wearing Brazil and Morocco shirts were interspersed throughout Penn Station.

Charles Rizk, 22, of Ohio, wasn't sure exactly how he was getting to a Jersey City fan event with his friends, but while sitting on the floor of the NJ Transit hub, he said he was excited to take in the experience.

"You see somebody with a soccer jersey everywhere," Rizk said. "I've been to New York once before. It was nowhere near busy as this."

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ