6,500 Turn Out for a Kid-Sized Knicks Parade on the Upper West Side

Lower Manhattan is getting its ticker-tape spectacle for the Knicks as we write this, the kind of million-deep crush that’s no place for a five-year-old. So the Upper West Side built one that was.

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On Wednesday, the Children’s Museum of Manhattan closed West 83rd Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway for what its calling NYC’s first-ever Kid-Sized Ticker Tape Celebration — a free block party honoring the Knicks’ first NBA Championship in 53 years. More than 6,500 kids and their grown-ups turned out, and demand ran so strong that the museum kicked things off a full hour ahead of schedule.

Comedian and author Amy Schumer and activist and author Jessica Seinfeld served as grand marshals, lighting the confetti cannons and leading the crowd through a rendition of “We Are the Champions” before celebrating with families on the stage ramp. Actor Jason Biggs turned up as a surprise guest, and beloved author Judy Blume was spotted in the crowd, posing for photos with museum leadership and families.

The neighborhood’s elected officials came out too. Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and City Council Member Gale Brewer both attended an event CMOM credited them with helping make possible.

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The afternoon’s centerpiece was an NBA step-and-repeat anchored by a life-size replica of the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, which drew lines all day. A drumline from Brooklyn’s Uncommon Schools performed several times, trading off with a DJ spinning New York anthems that kept families of every age dancing.

Kids worked their way through the kind of programming a downtown parade can’t offer: basketball-medallion pendants, Knicks-themed crafts, pop-a-shot hoops supplied by the NBA, and face painting. A brief sprinkle did nothing to thin it out — party-goers stuck around until 5 p.m., scooping confetti into bags, hats, and pockets to take home as keepsakes. The NYPD kept the block secured through the afternoon.

“Today the Upper West Side was covered in blue and orange confetti, joy, laughter, and celebration — and that’s exactly as it should be,” said Dava Schub, CEO of the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. “This was NYC’s first-ever Kid-Sized Ticker Tape Celebration, and CMOM was proud to give the city’s youngest New Yorkers a moment that was made just for them. The Knicks gave all New Yorkers a win we will never forget.”

The museum framed the day as part of its mission to put children at the center of the moments that define the city, and to find the lessons inside them. A championship 53 years in the making, it noted, is a pretty good way to teach hard work, perseverance, teamwork, and sportsmanship to a crowd still working on their jump shots.

The official ticker-tape parade is making its way through Lower Manhattan as we write this. On West 83rd Street, the under-ten set already had theirs.

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