Generations of New Yorkers waited hours to see their beloved New York Knicks celebrate their NBA championship win during Thursday's ticker-tape parade in lower Manhattan.
Fans were front and center as early as 1:00am, according to several fans from the Bronx and Florida who spoke to BK Reader. Many parade watchers, however, said they arrived at around 6:00am to secure a good spot.
Spectators watched bands and floats carrying the players and celebrities, including Spike Lee, Fat Joe and Timothée Chalamet.
By 8:00am, stations in lower Manhattan were packed with fans, and many people were not able to get to Broadway, where the parade went up from Battery Park to City Hall.
Joey Little of Canarsie, said he was disappointed he would not get a glimpse of the NBA champs.
"I should have come here in the middle of the night," he told BK Reader as he got stuck in an unmoving crowd on Nassau Street at around 8:30am.
The New York Police Department said it dispatched 10,000 officers to secure the parade, and did a good job keeping the expectations of a sometimes restless crowd in order. One woman passed out near Nassau and Ann Streets around 8:30am, and police officers were able to carry her out of the crowd to nearby emergency personnel for treatment.
Childhood friends Dontrell Findlay, 24, and Jason Bens, 23, who came to the parade from Bedford-Stuyvesant, said they got to Broadway and Ann Street at around 6:00am.
"My family said I wouldn't be up that early," Bens said.
Friends since attending P.S. 59, The Dawn Best Elementary School, Findlay said he was one of many Knicks fans who had waited their entire lives for this moment.
"Just to be able to witness this, it's amazing," he said. "It just feels more alive, active in New York right now."
Barbara Gordon, who grew up in East Flatbush, said she was at the parade with her daughter and her friends.
"You knew they were going to win," Gordon said.
Despite multiple tense first halves during the finals, real Knicks fans never had any doubt, said Gordon, 62.
"A real Knicks fan doesn't give up," she said. "And it's the energy the fans give them that makes them win."
After the parade, Mayor Zohran Mamdani awarded Keys to the City of New York to the Knicks.
"What is New York if not your back up against the wall, a dream that feels just out of reach, a rent payment you don’t know how you will ever make? What is New York if not 99.6% of the world stacked against you? And who are New Yorkers if not people who hear those odds and smile?" said Mamdani. “This is our city. This is our team. For 53 years, we watched. For 53 years, we waited. Now, we’ve won.”
Clinton Hill resident Michael Goodwine, 54, said he felt like he was on a cloud, dreaming.
"It was an incredible season and I can't believe it's over," he said. "This team unified New York and we needed this so bad. Humans need hope, happiness and this team gave it to us."
After the City Hall ceremony, Williamsburg-native Jose Alvarado continued to celebrate in Brooklyn alongside Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso at Toñita’s Caribbean Social Club in Williamsburg.
“Toñitas is the heart of Brooklyn’s Puerto Rican community. It's where we celebrate our victories, find support, and keep the culture alive,” said Reynoso. “To celebrate the iconic Knicks championship with Jose Alvarado, who also grew up in Los Sures, is incredibly special. His journey is a testament to what is possible when your community surrounds you with belief.”
