NEW YORK (WABC) -- It's estimated that over two million people celebrated the Knicks on Thursday as the Parade of Champions honored the team's first NBA championship since 1973.
Following the parade, Mayor Zohran Mamdani hosted a championship celebration and Key to the City ceremony on City Hall Plaza.
After the ceremony, Alicia Keys sang her iconic hit "Empire State of Mind."
The ticker-tape parade was a first for the Knicks, who did not celebrate with the famed tradition during their last wins in 1970 or 1973.
The celebration comes after an awe-inspiring playoff run which saw the Knicks secure the team's first NBA title in more than 50 years with a 4-1 series win over the San Antonio Spurs.
The Children's Museum of Manhattan is hosting a ticker-tape parade for NYC's youngest Knicks fans.
Amy Schumer and Jessica Seinfeld will be the Grand Marshals of the parade that kicks off at 4 p.m. Wednesday on West 83rd Street between Broadway and Amsterdam.
There will be confetti cannons, a live drum performance and a kid-sized championship celebration.
NYPD officials say there will be more than 10,000 members of the NYPD assigned to the parade, the largest number of officers ever assigned to any planned event.
The members of the NYPD will include heavy weapons teams, explosive detection K9s, transportation, transit, highway, aviation, drones, and more.
They say there will be assets you see and assets you don't see.
"We want people to enjoy this moment. 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," said Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
The ceremonial key to the city, to be presented to the Knicks, is the first key designed without the city seal and features an apple instead.
Instead, it focuses on Mamdani's "own civic identity" and showcases the city's "diversity and dynamism."
Up until this point, the keys have been replicas of the 1812 key made for a door to City Hall.
The keys were manufactured by Azra Khalfan, who owns Plaques by Azra in Queens.
They were designed by Aneesh Bothaphy, who developed the Mamdani campaign branding. The typography is from the Mamdani campaign was designed by Tobias Frere-Jones.
Knicks owner James Dolan says Alicia Keys will be singing "Empire State of Mind" to close Thursday's City Hall ceremony.
Dolan made the announcement during an interview with another media outlet.
"We have everybody from Walt Clyde Frazierfrom the old team to the new team, the Knicks City Dancers, there's like five marching bands, when we get to City Hall, we have a special performance by Alicia Keys ... singing "Empire State of Mind."
