New York Liberty Parade of Champions | WATCH LIVE
Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and their NY Liberty teammates were celebrated with a parade and ceremony in NYC
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Thousands turned out to shower the WNBA champion New York Liberty in ticker-tape in the Canyon of Heroes in downtown Manhattan on Thursday.
Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and their New York teammates were celebrated with a parade broadcast live on Channel 7 and streamed on ABC 7 New York.
The Liberty won the franchise's first championship, beating the Minnesota Lynx in overtime in a decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams joined the estimated 10,000 people who lined the streets on Thursday.
Eyewitness News Sports Anchor Sam Ryan was at the starting location for the parade where she caught up with Sabrina Ionescu.
Breanna Stewart also spoke to Ryan about the 'outpour of support' for her team at the Parade of Champions.
Jonquel Jones rode on a special float for the MVP.
Fans lined the streets and couldn't help but share their excitement.
The parade was especially significant for the younger generation of girls in attendance at the parade. Among them, Eyewitness News Anchor Mike Marza and ABC News' Rhiannon Ally's daughter.
A girl's basketball coach from New Jersey also shared with Eyewitness News how significant this moment is for her and her team to see.
Parade time and route
The parade kicked off at Battery Park around 10 a.m. Thursday morning before it headed north up Broadway to City Hall.
After the parade, there will be a celebration at City Hall before another celebration Thursday night at the Barclays Center.
Commuter alert
The Downtown Alliance says those commuting into Lower Manhattan on Thursday will likely see street and subway closures, as well as bus detours.
Street closures
- Broadway between Reade Street and Battery Place is closed to southbound vehicle traffic
- State Street Between Battery Place and Bridge Street
- Battery Place between West Thames Street and Broadway
- 3rd Place between Battery Place and Little West Street
- 2nd Place between Battery Place and Little West Street
- Little West Street between Morris Street and Battery Place
- West Street between Morris Street and Battery Place
- Morris Street between West Street and Washington Street
Subway and bus changes
- Buses are being detoured during the parade above Worth Street and Broadway
- The subway stations surrounding City Hall have their exits closed. These include the R,W trains on the east side of Broadway and the 4,5,6 trains at Park Row Plaza
- The Downtown Connection bus service is also be suspended for the entire day on Thursday, October 24. Normal service will resume on Friday, October 25
Ticker tape parade history
Thursday's ticker tape parade is the first to honor a local sports team since 2012 when the Giants beat Tom Brady's Patriots for the second time in Super Bowl 46.
There have been over 200 ticker-tape parades in New York. The most recent to honor a women's sports team came in 2019 when the U.S. soccer team won the World Cup. Two years later, there was a parade to honor essential workers and first responders for their service during the coronavirus pandemic.
Not all New York sports champions have gotten the honor of the ticker-tape parade. The New York City FC won their first Major League Soccer championship in 2021, but only received a celebration at City Hall. Last year, NY/NJ Gotham FC won the championship of the NWSL woman's pro soccer league, but also didn't get a ticker-tape parade.
But why ticker tape? A technological artifact even in the era of fax machines and floppy discs, ticker tape was the paper on which a "ticker" machine recorded telegraphed stock quotes.
ALSO WATCH | Behind-the-scenes look at the making of the ticker-tape parade floats
With the rise of television and computers, the tape became obsolete in the 1960s, but in the late 1800s, these one-inch-wide ribbons of paper were abundant in the financial heart of New York City, according to the Downtown Alliance, an organization that now supports the city's ticker-tape parades.
Office workers realized that the tape made a dramatic swirling motion when thrown out the windows of tall buildings, so the first ticker-tape parade seemed to start as a spontaneous gesture to celebrate the dedication of the Statue of Liberty in 1886.
RELATED | Why ticker tape? History of NYC's iconic parades as city prepares to celebrate the Liberty
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