Hell Gate's Knicks Ticker-Tape Parade Liveblog

Hundreds of thousands (maybe a million or more?) of people are streaming into Lower Manhattan as we type, just to possibly catch a glimpse of the New York Knicks, who are celebrating their first championship in 53 years. Did fans who woke up at 4 a.m. time their arrival just right, or were they already too late? Will it literally rain on the parade? Hell Gate will have live and continuing coverage of the parade all day, as the NYPD promises its largest mobilization in history, and the Knicks receive the key to the city from Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

We'll be along the parade route and at City Hall, so follow along with us as we celebrate the New York Knicks!

UPDATE 9:39 a.m. | Lower Manhattan

In a crowd on Cedar Street between Nassau and Broadway, Anissa, 27, wore a Mamdanistan t-shirt and said the mayor deserved some credit for the Knicks' win. "I don't think they could have done it without his support. Honestly!" She told Hell Gate. "He was also in the nosebleeds with the actual fans, he's also been at the FIFA matches in Jersey—he really embodies what it means to be a New Yorker."

Anissa, who is from Harlem and declined to give her last name, said that she doesn't even like basketball, but still felt disappointed over the years when she'd hear of another Knicks loss. She said it was important for her to be at the parade even if she didn’t see anything because she wanted to be amid "the culture around it. I've never seen this many New Yorkers in one place. I'm happy to just be here, I'm a part of history."

UPDATE 9:28 a.m. | Lower Manhattan

Here's the view from the last row of the lottery winner section for the Knicks ceremony:

UPDATE 9:20 a.m. | Lower Manhattan

Almost all entrances to downtown, including the subway, the FDR Drive, and the Brooklyn Bridge, have been shut down, according to the NYPD.

UPDATE: 9:19 a.m. | Deep in the throngs at the corner of Nassau and Liberty Streets

Omar the Car Guy, who owns a car shop called The Car Guys in Woodside, Queens, had his artist friend Soon draw Knicks art on his orange 2025 McLaren, which he had parked on the corner of Maiden Lane and Nassau. He didn't choose the color of his luxury sports car because of the Knicks, but when he realized they were going to win the championship, he saw an opportunity to express his fandom (and advertise his business). Was he afraid of parking an expensive car on a street corner in the middle of the largest ticker tape parade in New York history? "A little, but I have insurance," he told Hell Gate.

Stephanie Denise of Long Island, who described her age range as "60 and up" with a grin, had made her own sequined gown for the occasion, taking photos with a string of admiring onlookers at Liberty Plaza. "I'm a designer, so my creativity is always on," she said. "The concept is: We're marrying the championship."

UPDATE 8:55 a.m. | City Hall

We have out first major scandal of the Mamdani administration. It appears that a #33 jersey hanging outside of City Hall, a number retired by the New York Knicks for '90s Knicks legend Patrick Ewing, is instead labeled "Jones."

Who is responsible? We've asked City Hall but haven't heard back. One City Hall spokesperson texted "oh no," when sent the photo.

The #33 might refer to Dillon Jones, who played mostly for the Westchester and now wears the #1 jersey for the Knicks.

UPDATE 7:50 a.m. | Upstate New York

Despite the NYPD declaring Lower Manhattan effectively "closed," fans continue to stream towards the parade route, regardless.

On the Metro-North, New York State Department of Health employees, J'Nelle O. and Kelly S. took the day off to head to the parade.

Traveling from Albany, the two acknowledged that they won't get into the viewing pen because of when their Poughkeepsie train will get into New York City. But that's not going to stop them from going. "It's the experience of being there and in the crowd and with a bunch of people who are all there for one thing," said J'Nelle, who is such a dedicated fan that she's traveled to away Knicks games during the playoffs like Game 6 in Atlanta during the first round. "We're hoping to get the confetti around us," said Kelly S.

—Alisha Allison

UPDATE 7:30 a.m. | Parade checkpoints

It's not looking good for anyone who hasn't already gotten a spot on Broadway. The NYPD has announced that all viewing pens along Broadway are now full and that no one else will be allowed in the viewing area. Not only that, there are now no trains stopping south of Canal Street in Manhattan.

UPDATE 7:00 a.m. | David N. Dinkins Municipal Building

Thousands of Knicks fans are streaming out from the subways beneath the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building across the street from City Hall, breaking out in chants of "Let's go Knicks!" and "Ja-len Brun-son!"

Deanna, Andrea, and Annie came here this morning from Brooklyn and Manhattan. They said they recently became Knicks fans. They woke up at 4:30 a.m., but still weren't inside the actual parade route. Still they felt they were in good shape to get through the security checkpoints. 

"I came here because I wanted to be a part of the energy. This is a generational time for us, and we had to be here," said Deanna.

"This is a historic event, it's all about community, this is going to energize me for weeks to come," said Andrea.

"The city feels electric," added Annie. 

Father and son James and Jack woke up at 4 a.m. in the Hudson Valley. 

"I came down for this guy right here, it's really his first championship," said James. 

Jack said he was confident he'd find himself on the Canyon of Heroes. "I always had faith that they were going to win, I've been saying we were going to the parade since the beginning of the playoffs," he said. 

As a Hell Gate reporter entered City Hall, former 1990s New York Yankee Jim Leyritz was trying to talk his way past security.

"I'm a Yankee, they told me I could get in," Leyritz explained to a security guard, as the guard solemnly shook their head and told the baseball player he wasn't on the list.

UPDATE 6:30 a.m. | Chinatown

The streets are almost completely devoid of cars as the city has shut down all vehicular traffic south of Canal Street. A few delivery drivers have the streets to themselves as Knicks fans walk in scattered groups downtown. Police cadets, apparently called into action, stand on street corners in front of closed shops. Normally already bustling at this time of day, it appears a lot of businesses are taking the day off, rather than deal with NYPD cordons.