The Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago, the first Olympic Games were held in 776 B.C., James Naismith invented basketball in 1891, and the five boroughs of New York City were unified in 1898. And yet, in all of that time, the New York Knicks had never once had a ticker-tape parade.
Until today.
By 7:30 a.m. Thursday, the NYPD had announced that all viewing pens were full, more than two hours before the first float moved, with subway service suspended south of Canal Street to manage the crush. At City Hall this afternoon, after the confetti crews were already at work, Mamdani explained what the run had meant.
“The Knicks did not just win for New York City,” he said. “They won like New York City. 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’ll ever make, 99.6% of the world stacked against you. And who are New Yorkers if not people who hear those odds and smile and ask, ‘Why are you giving me a head start?’”
