Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced an open lottery for ecstatic New York Knicks fans to get free tickets to a Championship Ceremony at City Hall after a celebratory ticker-tape parade.
“The Knicks belong to New York City. And this championship belongs to the people who waited 53 years for it,” Mamdani wrote on X.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is seen wearing a New York Knicks jersey at the 69th Annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade Kyle Stevens/Shutterstock
“That’s why we’re giving away 600 free tickets to Thursday’s Championship Ceremony at City Hall following the ticker-tape parade.”
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The sweepstakes opened on Tuesday evening and will close on Wednesday at 11 a.m., the Hizzoner said. New Yorkers will know if they were randomly selected for two tickets to the ceremony on Wednesday.
The Knicks’ Championship Ceremony will take place live on the City Hall Plaza in Lower Manhattan and feature unspecified “speeches and musical performances.” Knicks players will also be awarded keys to the city.
The ceremony will kick off at noon on Thursday, two hours after a ticker-tape parade for the Big Apple to revel in the hometown team’s historic NBA Finals victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
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The parade will begin around Battery Park and travel about a mile north on Broadway through the Canyon of Heroes before reaching City Hall.
Revelers can line up across Broadway for the best view of the parade.
More information about security measures, specific street closures, and possible performances is expected later in the week before Thursday’s festivities.
The celebrations were scheduled after the NBA champs sent thousands into the streets across New York City on Saturday night, with everyone from MTA bus drivers to firefighters joining the frenzy.
The historic moment marked the first NBA title for the Knicks since 1973, following near misses in 1994 and 1999.
