AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe department announced that it would deploy more than 10,000 of its ranks and put stringent security measures in place for the celebration of the Knicks’ N.B.A. championship on Thursday.Listen · 3:48 min The Police Department said it would deploy more officers for the parade route honoring the Knicks than it had for other large-scale events, including New Year’s Eve.Credit...Dave Sanders for The New York TimesJune 17, 2026Updated 5:08 p.m.

ETThe Police Department will deploy more than 10,000 of its ranks to a ticker-tape parade and ceremony for the Knicks on Thursday morning, the largest assignment of officers to a planned event in the city’s history, the department said.The parade will be policed by officers from across the department, including heavy-weapons teams, explosive-detection dogs and members of the transit, highway and aviation units, according to a police spokeswoman.

The deployment, roughly as large as one-third of the total uniformed force, will far exceed that of recent major events, including New Year’s Eve at Times Square, one of the largest commitments of the year for the department.The event on Thursday morning is expected to draw millions of people to the parade route along the Canyon of Heroes in Manhattan, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said, and then a select number to City Hall for a ticketed celebration.

Members of the public are allowed to gather along the route, but they will be screened and must enter through designated access points, the police said.Attendance at the parade will be first-come, first-served, Ms. Tisch said at a meeting on Wednesday with local, state, and federal law enforcement officials.

People will be allowed into viewing areas along the route beginning at 6 a.m., and once the areas fill, they will either be redirected to other locations or turned away, she said.“We want people to enjoy this moment,” Ms. Tisch said at the meeting. “We want this to be a safe and memorable celebration for Knicks fans and for New York City, but public safety comes first and we are planning accordingly.”The stringent security measures come after the police have spent weeks trying to maintain order as New Yorkers from all five boroughs took to the streets to watch the Knicks play in their first finals in 27 years.Maia Coleman is a reporter for The Times covering the New York Police Department and criminal justice in the New York area.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT