NYC Knicks parade details: What to know

To celebrate the Knicks' NBA title, clinched Saturday night with a Game 5 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, New York City on Thursday will host the first-ever ticker-tape parade for the team's championship — and Mayor Zohran Mamdani says the parade could be the biggest the city's ever seen. 

"We've been waiting 53 years for this," Mamdani said Monday, adding: "There are many of us for whom a Knicks championship was something that we weren't even alive to see."

Here are some questions and answers about how to attend the 10 a.m. parade, where to go and why this is a first for the team.

What is the route? 

The Knicks will be feted along the famed Canyon of Heroes, the historic route, mostly on Broadway, that stretches from The Battery to City Hall. 

The route has been the site of more than 200 parades since the first one, in 1886, to dedicate the Statue of Liberty, according to the Downtown Alliance. Past honorees include sports champions, kings, war heroes, presidents, soldiers, sea captains, a pope, a concert pianist and more. 

When should paradegoers arrive?

The city recommends that paradegoers arrive at least two hours early. It is going to be packed and cross streets will be closed after the parade begins.

What's the best way to get to the parade?

Mass transit. The Long Island Rail Road will let you connect to the subway either at Penn Station (the 2, 3, A, C or E) or Grand Central Madison (the 4, 5, or 6). Note: An alcohol ban will be in effect for the LIRR and Metro-North trains from 5 a.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday.

In addition to the parade route itself, the surrounding streets will be closed to traffic. The city is also closing the Wall Street (4,5) and City Hall (R,W) subway stations beginning at 4:30 a.m. on Thursday and they will reopen by approximately 5 p.m. following the ceremony at City Hall.

At the request of the NYPD, there will be some entrances and exits closed at the stations listed below, although trains will continue to stop at these stations:

• Chambers Street (J,Z)
• Brooklyn Bridge (4,5,6)
• Park Place (2,3)
• Fulton Center (2,3,4,5, A,C,J,R,Z)
• Bowling Green (4,5)

After the parade concludes, depending the passenger volumes, the MTA said it will be prepared to add additional trains on the A,J and 1 lines.

Some New York City Buses will be subject to diversions. Customers can check mta.info for service updates.

Where are the access points to the parade for attendees?

The city released this list:

• Washington Street and Morris Street/Battery Place
• Trinity Place and Morris Street
• Trinity Place and Exchange Alley
• Trinity Place and Rector Street
• Trinity Place and Thames Street
• Trinity Place and Cedar Street
• Church Street and Liberty Street
• Church Street and Cortlandt Street
• Church Street and Dey Street
• Church Street and Fulton Street
• Church Street and Barclay Street
• Church Street and Park Place
• Church Street and Murray Street
• Church Street and Warren Street
• Church Street and Thomas Street
• New Street and Exchange Place
• New Street and Wall Street
• Nassau Street and Pine Street
• Nassau Street and Cedar Street
• Nassau Street and Liberty Street
• Nassau Street and Maiden Lane
• Nassau Street and John Street
• Nassau Street and Ann Street

What street closures are planned?

The city will not allow parking south of Canal Street beginning at 7 p.m. tonight. Lower Manhattan south of Canal Street will be shut down to all vehicular traffic, except for the FDR Drive and the West Side Highway. Any vehicles coming off the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan will only be able to go north on the FDR Drive.

If the Knicks have won before — twice — why is this the first for the team?

The mayor at the time of the team's only two other NBA titles — John Lindsay — had "discontinued the ticker-tape parade celebration in favor of more informal receptions," Kenneth Cobb, deputy commissioner at the city’s Department of Records and Information Services, told The City Reporter earlier this month.

In place of a parade, in 1973, Bill Bradley, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, and others on the team got diamond jubilee medallions, in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the five boroughs of the city being consolidated, in 1898.

In addition to the parade, how else is the city honoring the Knicks?

Several city buildings will be lit in blue and orange — the team colors — on Thursday night. There will also be a parade kickoff near Battery Park and a ceremony at City Hall where the team will be awarded keys to the city. 

Speaking at a city sign shop in Queens, and next to one of the "Champions Way" blue-and-orange street signs, being made by the city Transportation Department, that will be going up along the route on Wednesday and coming down Tuesday, Mamdani said the Knicks parade might be the largest parade in New York City history.

Mamdani said he went to bed at 3:45 a.m. Sunday, "and I think that that was probably on the earlier side for many New Yorkers." The mayor didn't wait to fete the team in person; he appeared hours later on a float with Knicks guard Jose Alvarado in a Puerto Rican Day parade in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Who is performing during the ceremony?

Alicia Keys, the Manhattan native, will sing her 2009 hit "Empire State of Mind." There will likely be others.

What security precautions are the city taking? 

Thursday's Knicks parade will be policed by over more than 10,000 officers, the largest number ever assigned to a planned event in New York City, according to the NYPD.

How do I access my workplace, school or medical appointment if it's near the parade route?

Those with ID or other proof of a reason to be in the area are sometimes allowed to bypass checkpoints, but that's not always the case. The mayor’s press office did not immediately say how those who need to access buildings near or along the route would be handled.

What about Regents exams scheduled for Thursday, conflicting with the parade?

Mamdani urged students to prioritize those exams, including biology and earth science, which are scheduled by the state. 

"There will always be any number of people who will not be able to make it, no matter what day we choose," he said.

The date was chosen in consultation with the team, the mayor said, particularly to give the players enough time to bring their families to attend in person.