Knicks to celebrate first NBA title in 53 years with ticker-tape parade
After a half-century drought, the New York Knicks have finally brought an NBA championship back to the five boroughs. To celebrate, as is tradition in New York City, a ticker-tape parade will be held for the team on Thursday, the first time in franchise history. The parade will take place at 10 a.m. on June 18 along the Canyon of Heroes in Lower Manhattan and end outside City Hall, where Mayor Zohran Mamdani will present the team with keys to the city.
The Knicks’ unforgettable NBA Finals performance, including trailing by 29 points in Game 4 with OG Anunoby’s tip-in to secure the win and Jalen Brunson’s MVP-clinching 45-point Game 5, will go down as one of the greatest playoff runs in history.
“For more than 50 years, New Yorkers have waited for this moment. Through near misses, heartbreak and a hope that every year could be our year, this city never stopped believing in the Knicks. And this team fulfilled that hope with grit, resilience and heart—just like the five boroughs itself,” Mamdani said.
“New Yorkers have cheered for our team from packed living rooms in the Bronx to watch parties in Brooklyn, from bars in Queens to Staten Island to Manhattan, and Madison Square Garden itself,” he added. “Now it’s time for our city to celebrate together.”
The mayor will join the Knicks team, as well as James Dolan, the owner of the Knicks and Madison Square Garden, at the parade, the New York Times reported.
The parade follows the traditional route through the Canyon of Heroes, which runs between Bowling Green and City Hall and is lined with commemorative plaques marking each ticker-tape parade hosted over the last 140 years.
Viewing along the route is free and open to the public, with no ticket required. Viewing areas open at 6 a.m. Those planning to attend are encouraged to arrive early, as the parade is expected to draw more than 1 million spectators, which would make it the largest-attended parade in city history.
Access points to the parade route include:
- Washington Street & Morris Street / Battery Place
- Trinity Place & Morris Street
- Trinity Place & Exchange Aly
- Trinity Place & Rector Street
- Trinity Place & Thames Street
- Trinity Place & Cedar Street
- Church Street & Liberty Street
- Church Street & Cortlandt Street
- Church Street & Dey Street
- Church Street & Fulton Street
- Church Street & Barclay Street
- Church Street & Park Place
- Church Street & Murray Street
- Church Street & Warren Street
- Church Street & Thomas Street
- New Street & Exchange Place
- New Street & Wall Street
- Nassau Street & Pine Street
- Nassau Street & Cedar Street
- Nassau Street & Liberty Street
- Nassau Street & Maiden Lane
- Nassau Street & John Street
- Nassau Street & Ann Street
Starting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, parking will be prohibited south of Canal Street, and any remaining vehicles will be towed. Beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday, streets south of Canal Street from the Hudson River to the East River will be closed to vehicular traffic, though the FDR Drive and West Side Highway will remain open.
Starting at 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the Wall Street and City Hall subway stations will close. Both stations will reopen after the parade and ceremony at City Hall.
Traffic exiting the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan will be directed exclusively to the northbound FDR Drive. Pedestrians will continue to have access to the bridge walkway. To accommodate Staten Islanders attending the parade, Staten Island Ferry service will operate every 15 minutes between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and again between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Following the parade, City Hall will host a ticketed championship ceremony. The Mayor’s Office has launched a public lottery offering 600 free tickets to New Yorkers.
As part of the celebrations, City Hall, the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building, and Brooklyn Borough Hall will be lit in blue and orange on Thursday night. Other buildings may also be illuminated.
Hundreds of police officers will be on duty, according to a memo from NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch to roughly 34,000 officers, which said it will likely “place significant demands on the NYPD,” according to the Times.
While this city has enjoyed a heightened level of unity during the Knicks’ postseason run, rising energy as the team moved closer to the Finals led to disorder at watch parties outside MSG, prompting the NYPD to pull permits for some events outside the arena before later restoring them.
After Saturday’s victory, the NYPD reported 63 arrests, 10 officer injuries, and a shooting. One cop was punched in the face, while another was struck by a glass bottle, according to Gothamist. In one of the most widely shared videos from the celebrations following the victory, revelers set a shuttle bus intended to transport soccer fans to MetLife Stadium for the World Cup on fire in Times Square. A total of five buses were set on fire or damaged by vandalism that night, according to The Athletic.
Ticker-tape parades are a long-standing tradition in NYC, reserved for commemorating some of the city’s most significant achievements. Since the first parade in 1886, held for the dedication of the Statue of Liberty, the city has hosted more than 200 ticker-tape parades, named for the shredded paper from ticker-tape machines that rains down like confetti.
In 2021, COVID-19 first responders were honored with a parade, along with New York City FC’s championship. Most recently, the city hosted a parade for the New York Liberty after the team won its first-ever WNBA championship, as 6sqft previously reported.
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