Knicks fever has overtaken the city. Suburbanites aren’t safe either. Gabrielle, born in New York City, raised on Long Island, and now raising her kids in Westchester, has a severe case — and there’s no question she’ll be at the team’s ticker-tape parade.
To guarantee it, she’s paying $750 to have someone hold her spot in line ahead of Thursday. They’ll be there for her from midnight to 8 a.m., the mother of three told The City Reporter.
“Obviously I can’t wait overnight and also watch my kids,” three boys ages 4, 7, and 10, Gabrielle said, declining to use her last name due to the sensitive nature of her work at a financial firm.
NYPD barricades sit by the route for the Knicks’ ticker-tape parade in Lower Manhattan, June 17, 2026. Credit: Kaitlyn Schwanemann/The City Reporter
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has projected the NBA championship celebration may be New York City’s largest in history; after a 53-year drought, the “Canyon of Heroes” in the Financial District will be flooded with fans. For the die-hards, they’re saving a spot themselves.
Geraldine Bryant, who lives in the Bronx, was there hours earlier than Gabrielle’s line-sitter. Arriving at the City Hall entry point at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday, she said she plans to stake out her spot all night.
“I want the Knicks to see me,” she said, sitting in a foldable lawn chair with a handmade Knicks sign on bright blue poster board.
Geraldine Bryant, set up her chair near City Hall at 4:15 p.m. the day before the Knicks’ parade, June 17, 2026. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/The City Reporter
While the Knicks have never before had a ticker-tape parade, thanks to former Mayor John Lindsay, their 1973 championship was celebrated with a ceremony at City Hall Plaza, drawing about 2,000 fans. Thursday’s parade could see millions. The parades for the Giants (2008 and 2012) and the Yankees (1998, 1999 and 2000) all saw over a million fans, with some estimates as high as 2 to 3 million, according to the Downtown Alliance, an advocacy group servicing Lower Manhattan.
At a little past 5 p.m. Wednesday — more than 17 hours before the parade — serious fans like Bryant had already staked out their front-row spots on the bleachers outside of City Hall, unfolding pillows and rolling out pajamas for an all-night wait.
“Fifty-three years, man, through the ups and downs of the Knicks, and this is my first championship I’ve ever seen,” said Rob Martel, 53, from Winfield Park, New Jersey. “I want to be as close as possible.”
Born the year of the Knicks’ last title, he had brought little more than a chair, a hat and some Gatorade.
“I came less prepared than they did,” he said, nodding toward a pair of brothers nearby, with whom he became fast friends within minutes of sitting on the bleachers.
Brothers Justin Leiva, left, and Eddie Leiva, right, traveled from Philadelphia to snatch a front-row seat at the parade. Rob Martel, sitting behind them, came in from New Jersey to witness history, June 17, 2026. Credit: Carol Chen/The City Reporter
Those brothers, Eddie and Justin Leiva, had traveled from Philadelphia by NJ Transit and a Lyft from Penn Station. Eddie, 24, said he has been a fan since birth. “We’re born into this blue and orange forever,” he said, pointing to a Knicks’ hat stitched with the year 2000.
His older brother Justin, 28, a school counselor on summer break, said he had to be here for the occasion. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he said. “We like to be the first for everything, if we can.”
Passerbys had been dropping off chips and water for them, he said. “It’s just good vibes all around, man.”
Security and Sacrifices
With the NYPD putting out a laundry list of security measures, banned items, and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch discussing the possibility of turning people away — Gabrielle’s just hoping for the best by the time she gets there Thursday morning.
She asked the line-sitter she hired on Airtasker, an online marketplace, to save three spots, ideally on Broadway and Barclay Street.
Gabrielle hired a line-sitter to secure a spot at the parade for the Knicks. She is pictured here at a Knicks game from May with two of her three children. Credit: Courtesy of Gabrielle
A Knicks fan practically since birth, she’s shared her love of the game with her kids. She wants them to make some life-long memories at the parade.
“It’s times like this where New York City shines its brightest,” Gabrielle said. “It’s one of these moments that will be embedded in their memories and last a lifetime.”
At City Hall, other campers on the bleachers traveled hundreds of miles to be there.
Henry Restrepo, 55, flew in from Miami Wednesday morning with his 18-year-old son, Alejandro. Born and raised in Queens, Restrepo has followed the team since 1984.
“I’ve been through a lot of pain and suffering,” he said, remembering the Knicks’ losses to the Rockets in 1994 and the Spurs in 1999. “I cried. I shed a tear. I ain’t ashamed to say that.”
Camping was not the plan, he said, until he saw others doing it and decided spontaneously to camp out for the night. In order to see the players, according to Restrepo, he chose his spot on the bleachers, supposedly on the corner where the players’ motorcade turns toward City Hall.
Henry Restrepo, left, and his son Alejandro Restrepo flew in from Miami to camp out for the Knicks’ ticker-tape parade, June 17, 2026. Credit: Carol Chen/The City Reporter
“I’m not a VIP or a politician, so I can’t be there,” he said. “So this is the next best thing.”
When asked about whether or not he is concerned about being kicked out by law enforcement tonight, Restrepo admitted he is “a little worried,” but hopes “it is worth the risk.”
Eddie, with his brother Justin, said they are not worried in the slightest — “I will line up wherever I have to,” they said. They are similarly undaunted by the long wait ahead of them.
“That’s all the Knicks did this year was sacrifice to win the championship, so I think we could sacrifice a little bit of money, a little bit of time, a little bit of sleep,” he said.
Our nonprofit newsroom relies on donations from readers to sustain our local reporting and keep it free for all New Yorkers. Donate to THE CITY today.
The post Hired Line-Sitters Join Die-Hards on the Barricades Ahead of Knicks Parade appeared first on The City Reporter.
