NYPD deploying 10,000 officers for historic Knicks championship parade

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and DEA Union President Scott Munro discuss the unprecedented security for the New York City Knicks championship parade. More than 10,000 officers will be deployed, marking the largest planned event security in NYPD history. Counter-terrorism units, including drone detection, are on high alert.

The New York Police Department plans to deploy 10,000 police officers to secure the New York Knicks’ ticker-tape parade on Thursday as the city celebrates the team’s first title in 53 years.

The Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in five games to capture the NBA championship. It will the first parade for the franchise as the city didn’t throw a parade for when the team won twice in the 1970s.

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New York Knicks fans react during Game One of the 2026 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on June 3, 2026. (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE)

"There will be performances, there will be New Yorkers, there will be the team and there will be history," New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday.

The parade is set to start at 10 a.m. ET near Battery Park and make its way up Broadway through the Canyon of Heroes and end at City Hall. Alicia Keys is set to perform at the event.

"We want people to enjoy this moment," New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. "But public safety comes first."

Banners hang above City Hall in New York as preparations take place ahead of the New York Knicks' NBA championship ticker-tape parade on June 17, 2026. (Alyssa Goodman/AP Photo)

A street sign reading "Champions Way" is posted along Broadway, known as the "Canyon of Heroes," ahead of the New