From the subway to the streets, New York gave the Knicks the celebratory parade they deserved

The New York Knicks’ championship ticker-tape parade on Thursday was one for the ages, as an estimated 1 million fans came out in full force, flooding the streets of lower Manhattan with orange and blue.

Hours before the parade even began at 10 a.m. ET, Knicks fans packed the sidewalk viewing pens along Broadway in the Financial District. The New York Police Department issued an alert at 7:30 a.m. ET to say they were full and that no one else was allowed in the viewing area.

Some Knicks fans expressed their disappointment at being unable to access the viewing area, despite showing up hours before the start.

Below the crowded city streets, the subways were also packed. CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez shared in an X post early Thursday morning that it took him about half an hour just to exit a nearby subway station.

Some fans scaled fixtures and the sides of buildings in hopes of a better view. 

Convene, an event and workspace business, embraced its sign change after a fan accidentally broke off the “n” on the building’s sign while trying to get a better view.

Even young Knicks fans got into the act. An elementary student named Madison, who was named after the Knicks’ home turf, Madison Square Garden, said she skipped her fifth-grade graduation to be at the parade.

The parade got underway at Battery Park and ran north up Broadway through the so-called Canyon of Heroes, which is marked with plaques in the ground commemorating past ticker-tape parades. Many of the Knicks’ celebrity fans who turned up to support the team throughout the playoffs, including Spike Lee, Ben Stiller and Timothée Chalamet, also turned up to celebrate. Some even took part, riding on dozens of floats that made their way up to City Hall.

Perhaps one unexpected celeb was a person dressed as Sesame Street‘s Elmo. Elmo — who was criticized by Knicks fans and the city’s Department of Transportation for not picking a team to root for in the NBA Finals — appeared to make amends to the Knicks, holding up a sign that said, “Elmo sorry.” 

At the end of the parade route, the Knicks were welcomed at City Hall by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. He sported a Knicks jersey under his suit jacket, while first lady Rama Duwaji was decked out in a dress made from upcycled Knicks T-shirts.

Before he presented the team with keys to the city, Mamdani framed the championship series as belonging to all New Yorkers, calling out how fans packed into bars and held watch parties across the city. He connected the Knicks’ perseverance and long history of heartbreak to New York’s identity. 

“So often when this city comes together, it is because we are forced to by a moment of tragedy or adversity,” he said. “What a gift it is to be brought together by pure, unfiltered joy.”

Mamdani then handed out keys to New York City, the city’s meaningful symbolic gesture, to the championship squad.

To top off the celebration, multi-Grammy-winning singer and pianist Alicia Keys performed “Empire State of Mind.” It was a quintessential New York moment as Keys sang alongside the winning Knicks team and the mayor at City Hall.

Blue-and-orange confetti rained from the sky as the Knicks players celebrated with their families on stage.

To keep the championship vibes going, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Spike Lee announced on Wednesday that the 34th St. subway station that was painted blue and orange for the Finals will remain that way through the next championship season. 

To quote Billy Joel, and sung by Keys on Thursday, the city is in a “New York state of mind.”