New York will throw its first ticker-tape parade for the Knicks on Thursday, capping a championship the city waited 53 years to celebrate.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that the parade and a City Hall ceremony — where players will receive Keys to the City — will take place Thursday, June 18. The procession is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. near Battery Park and travel north up Broadway through the Canyon of Heroes before ending at City Hall. It will be the first ticker-tape parade in franchise 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," Mamdani said in a statement. "Now it's time for our city to celebrate together. Bing bong."
Speaking to ABC7, the mayor said the city had been quietly preparing even as he tried not to tempt fate. "As a fan, I haven't wanted to jinx it, but as the mayor, we've been preparing for all these logistics," he said. He added that the title had produced a rare kind of unity. "Often times in our city's history, this kind of unity comes in a moment of tragedy, and it's so beautiful that this unity is coming from a moment of joy."
The celebrations began the moment Jalen Brunson's 45-point closeout sealed Game 5. Fireworks lit up Brooklyn and Central Park, fans flooded Times Square, and police officers shouted "Let's go Knicks" over loudspeakers.
"I'm so overwhelmed. I'm so happy," said Mathieu Ogno of Long Island, who wore Brunson's jersey at a team-sanctioned watch party at Wollman Rink in Central Park.
"I'm happy to see my Knicks finally make it over the hump," said Shawn Muoneke, 26, who said the mood across the city was the highest it had ever been.
The revelry carried a darker edge. Police said a 17-year-old was shot near 42nd Street and Broadway, four people were stabbed or slashed, and a bus was set on fire during the celebrations. The chaos prompted pointed safety pleas from both the team and City Hall.
Knicks owner James Dolan interrupted guard Josh Hart's news conference to deliver one. "We need to tell everybody in New York that we know that they're celebrating, we want them to have a great time," Dolan said. "Please be safe. Don't get hurt, don't hurt anybody."
Mamdani echoed the message on social media. "As we celebrate, be responsible, look out for one another, stay safe, be smart, and make this a night that reflects the very best of our city," he wrote. "Let's go Knicks."
City Hall and municipal buildings across the city, including the David N. Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building and Brooklyn Borough Hall, will be illuminated in blue and orange on Thursday night in the team's honor.
