NYPD to deploy 10K officers to safeguard Knicks' victory parade - ESPN

The victory parade for the NBA champion New York Knicks in Manhattan on Thursday will be safeguarded by 10,000 members of the NYPD, the largest number of police officers ever assigned to a planned event, the department said Wednesday.

The security follows the ebullient but sometimes chaotic street celebrations and incidents of violence during the Knicks' run to the NBA championship over the San Antonio Spurs.

The contingent will include heavy weapons teams, explosive detection K9s, transportation, transit, highway, aviation, drones and more, according to police.

The parade will kick off at 10 a.m. near Bowling Green, a park in New York's Financial District, where the route will continue north along Broadway until it reaches City Hall, where Mayor Zohran Mamdani will present the Knicks keys to the city. This route is known as the «Canyon of Heroes» for its history as the setting of ticker-tape parades.

«From a playoff run that left New Yorkers breathless to a tip-in that will be talked about for decades, the Knicks have earned a hero's welcome,» Mamdani said in a news release Tuesday. «We have dreamed of this moment for generations. This Thursday, our city will rise to the occasion.»

Knicks legends Walt «Clyde» Frazier — a member of the two 1970s champion teams — and Patrick Ewing are expected to be in the parade, a source told The Associated Press. Mike Breen, the Knicks' play-by-play announcer on MSG Network, was set to emcee the City Hall ceremony, the source said.

Alicia Keys, the singer who joined with Jay-Z on the indelible 2009 «Empire State of Mind,» has been tapped to perform.

«How could I not?» Keys said Wednesday in a social media post that featured her chatting with Knicks forward OG Anunoby.

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