New York has survived natural disasters, pandemics and even foreign attacks, but will face an altogether new threat on Thursday in the form of a Knicks championship parade.
Jalen Brunson & Co. are the first Knicks team to receive such an honor after New York’s previous champions were denied parades in 1970 and 1973 due to logistical and financial issues.
Now, after Saturday’s Game 5 win over the San Antonio Spurs sealed their third title, the Knicks are expected to draw millions of fans to lower Manhattan’s famed ‘Canyon of Heroes,’ where the likes of Mickey Mantle, Theodore Roosevelt and Nelson Mandela have all been feted.
And given those enormous crowds expected along the one-mile route, not to mention the violent scenes that unfolder after the Knicks clinched the title on Saturday, mayor Zohran Mamdani is not taking any chances.
To bolster security, more than 10,000 NYPD officers will be deployed for the event – and that’s hardly the entire picture.
In addition to uniformed officers along the parade route, NYPD will enlist helicopter and drone aviation teams, heavy weapons teams, K-9 teams, highway units and many transit officers to keep the peace. What’s more, police barriers area already in place after being set up on Tuesday.
Mamdani is seen at Sunday’s Puerto Rican Day Parade wearing a Josh Hart replica jersey
A Knicks fan talks with police in the aftermath of the New York Knicks Game 5 win Saturday
Mounted Unit moves back Knicks fans as they celebrate their win against San Antonio Spurs
‘We want people to enjoy, but public safety comes first,’ NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Wednesday.
The parade will start at 10am from Battery Park before making its way to City Hall, where the team will receive the Keys to the City. Parking on the surrounding streets will be prohibited after 7pm local time on the eve of the parade, while a number of streets will be closed entirely to accommodate the crowds.
Attending the parade is going to be tricky as fans will only be able to access the route from 23 different checkpoints, all of which will include a screening process. Paradegoers are forbidden from bringing bags, glass or metal bottles, bats or batons, bikes or scooters, chairs, coolers, drones, backpacks, pets, strollers, weapons or even umbrellas.
And that could prove to be a small problem on Thursday morning as some light showers remain a possibility.
Paradegoers can also get updated information from the @NYCMayor and @NYCgov accounts on X.
Some fans are expected to try and camp out overnight along the route. As for those who want to get a good night’s sleep before the festivities, the city recommends arriving at least two hours before the 10am start time.
The NYPD had a busy night of arrests as fans were shot and stabbed amid the celebrations
Revelers stand on top of a ripped-apart school bus as it begins to burn near Times Square
Jalen Brunson celebrates with the MVP trophy with his father, Rick, and owner James Dolan
NYPD made 63 arrests across the city related to Knicks celebrations on Saturday night and early Sunday morning. One 17-year-old was shot in the foot during the madness.
With an ambulance unable to reach the stricken teenager due to the crowds ‘completely taking over’, he was transported to the hospital by the NYPD and is in a stable condition.
A firearm was recovered at the scene and three persons of interest are in custody.
Of the 63 fans arrested in the chaos, some of the charges were listed as: assault on a police officer, criminal possession of weapon (gun), criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and obstruction of governmental administration.
Ten NYPD officers were injured, including one of who was punched in the face and another who was struck with a glass bottle, according to authorities.
The police report states that crowds ‘became increasingly destructive’ after the game had finished, with ‘many incidents of incredibly reckless and dangerous behavior’.
NYPD Police officers patrol the large crowds along Broadway’s ‘Canyon Of Heroes’ in 1963. The parade was held in honor of astronaut Gordon Cooper, who piloted the Mercury 9 mission
A person stands in front of NYPD Mounted Units as they move back fans on Saturday
In addition to the shooting, there were four stabbings/slashings, and five school buses were lit on fire and destroyed with bats, after fans had jumped on top of them.
The buses, which had been parked near Times Square, were being used to transport soccer fans to and from MetLife Stadium for the World Cup.
Five NYPD cop cars, meanwhile, were badly damaged by fans with bats, with front and back windshields shattered and the windows smashed.
A specific number could not be placed on the ‘multiple’ other personal vehicles damaged in the chaos, while there were also fireworks lit in large crowds.
The report added that large physical fights broke out across the city, while many fans climbed up light poles, traffic lights, structures and scaffolding.
On Sunday morning, city workers began a mass cleanup operation to clear the city of the damage and destruction caused overnight… before Thursday’s title parade threatens to wreak havoc all over again.
