It’s nothing but orange and blue in Lower Manhattan today.
The New York Knicks are celebrating their historic NBA championship with a parade expected to draw over one million people to Manhattan’s Financial District.
Broadway’s Canyon of Heroes, the 12-block stretch that hosted the parade, runs through the city’s Financial District, which also includes Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange, and the headquarters of major financial companies, as well as the Business Insider offices.
The ticker-tape parade traveled one mile from Battery Park at the tip of Manhattan to City Hall, where Mayor Zohran Mamdani received the champions for a ceremony.
It’s the first ticker-tape parade in the Knicks history, and it comes after a 53-year NBA championship drought. The team clinched the title on Saturday after a 94-90 win against the San Antonio Spurs in the fifth game of the finals series.
See how fans celebrated — and how workers in the district fared among the chaos.
Workers in the Financial District had a very orange-and-blue commute on Thursday.
Over one million Knicks fans were expected to gather in the streets of Lower Manhattan to celebrate the team’s NBA championship win.
It was the Knicks’ first win in 53 years and the first celebrated with a ticker-tape parade.
“It may well be the largest parade in New York City history,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.
Some fans arrived early from across the NYC metropolitan area.
“We’ve been waiting our whole lives,” Jason Hulse, who came from New Jersey with his family at 5 a.m., told Business Insider. “I’m 36 years old. I’ve been waiting 36 [expletive] years.”
Viewing pens along Broadway opened at 6 a.m. By 8 a.m., the city announced the pens were full and began limiting traffic.
Major subway stations in the Financial District had reduced exits and saw service disruptions.
At Fulton Street, NYPD officers had designated exits for workers in the area, who had to show their work identifications to get through.
The city announced at 8 a.m. that subways would not stop south of Canal Street, and an hour later said the Brooklyn Bridge was closed.
“You should’ve taken PTO,” some fans told workers commuting. “It’s a holiday.”
Despite a crowded commute, workers with offices overlooking the parade route enjoyed the city’s hottest perk for the day.
The excitement reached the Business Insider office, which overlooks Broadway, as well.
Near the route, some fans were climbing to wherever they could find better views.
Others turned barricades into ladders.
Eden Rock Charles, the son of fan Zamien “Top” Charles, was lifted up to the ledge as well.
“In 30 years, when he’s older, I want him to think, ‘I remember my dad took me, and it was crazy,”’ Zamien Charles told Business Insider.
In the crowd, some people were passing out and requesting medical assistance.
The Knicks clinched the title Saturday with a 94-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs during Game 5.
The championship was the first time in more than a generation that fans saw the Knicks win the title.
Fans chanted “MVP” as team captain Jalen Brunson celebrated the title at the parade.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined the celebrations, riding one of the parade floats with player OG Anunoby.
The mayor hosted a celebration ceremony at City Hall after the parade.
Some fans, like Emily Wheland and Kiana Lang from the Albany area, traveled hours through the early morning to get to the celebrations.
“This right here is picking the whole city’s spirits up,” Wheland told Business Insider.
Hulse added, “When my life flashes before my eyes when I’m on my deathbed, this will definitely be one of them flashes.”
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