NEW YORK — The hottest Instagram spot in Manhattan isn’t a new restaurant or bagel shop. It’s a subway entrance.
Just a stone’s throw from Madison Square Garden, at 34th Street and Eighth Avenue, tucked away in the shadow of one of the most beloved spaces in the city, the entrance serving the A, C and E trains has become an unlikely attraction after being painted orange and blue in honor of the New York Knicks’ first NBA Finals appearance in 27 years. Half-basketballs painted around the light posts at the top of the steps complete the tribute to the home team.
In just a few days, the station entrance, which has been transformed into a work of art overnight with a couple of fresh coats of paint, has created viral attention, with crowds of Knicks fans stopping by to take a selfie, shoot videos and celebrate a playoff run that has energized the city.
On Tuesday, people of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds stopped by the newly painted entrance and what has become a cultural touchstone for thousands of New Yorkers. Transit workers stopped by on their lunch breaks to take pictures. A police officer pulled out his phone to capture the moment. Fans yelled “Go, Knicks!” as they walked by.
“It’s definitely become like a spectacle,” said Knicks fan Khairi Price, a 35-year-old photographer from Jamaica, Queens.
Price came to see what all the talk was about after seeing a video of city workers painting the station on social media. Wearing a Jalen Brunson jersey and a Knicks hat, Price couldn’t help but smile as he watched a steady stream of Knicks fans gathered around the entrance.
Knicks fan Khairi Price takes a photo in front of the newly painted subway entrance near Madison Square Garden. (Nick Friedell / The Athletic)
“When the Knicks are doing good, it brings the city together,” he said. “It brings people out. You have all the native New Yorkers coming out from all over just to see this.”
For many fans, the paint on the entrance represents more than just a facelift. It’s a symbol of togetherness for a city that is pulling for its favorite basketball team, and a reminder of just how much fun things can be when civic pride permeates New Yorkers across the boroughs.
“You’re born a Knicks fan,” Shadia, a 44-year-old from Brooklyn, said after taking some pictures in front of the stop. “We’ve loved other teams, but you’re born a Knicks fan. … It’s the best fan base ever. What other city is gonna do this?”
Shadia, wearing a red Knicks hat and a 2026 Eastern Conference champions T-shirt, saw a post on Instagram and made her way near the Garden to get pictures with her aunt, Stephanie, who was also wearing Knicks gear on top of her dress.
“This shows the camaraderie of the city, the love of this city. No matter what we go through, it don’t matter, really, what borough you’re from,” Shadia said. “Win or lose, we’ve been here since Day 1. Ride or die. That’s why you gotta stick with it. That’s New York.”
So, where did the idea to transform a corner of 34th and Eighth come from? Enter the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s customer officers. Over the past few months, they’ve looked for ways to make riders’ commutes a little more fun. On Valentine’s Day, they put heart stickers on some subway cars. On St. Patrick’s Day, they added shamrocks. When the Knicks started rolling in the postseason in early May, they lit Penn Station in orange and blue.
Chief customer officer Shanifah Rieara and deputy officer Eugene Ribeiro began brainstorming with their staff to see what else was possible. Ribeiro had an idea.
“How about we paint the subway entrance Knicks colors?” Rieara recalled Tuesday afternoon while relaying the story in front of the now-famous subway entrance. “And we’re like, ‘OK. Let’s see if our colleagues in transit will allow us to do so.’”
Those conversations began last Friday afternoon and continued through Saturday. By Sunday, Rieara got the go-ahead to proceed with the plan, but she still needed to get the logistics and coordination down with other people in the city and, most importantly, find the right paint. Most of the New York subway entrances are traditionally painted green.
“We came out at four in the morning, unpacking and looking at our supplies,” Rieara said.
That’s when the group discovered a problem. One of the transit partners had picked out the wrong shade of orange.
“Our team is so great,” Rieara said. “(They) found a round-the-clock, 24-hour hardware store — they do exist in Manhattan — went out, stormed into their doors and asked for a Knicks-orange paint. They did a couple mixings, found the right orange carrot color and came back and got to work.”
MTA senior promotions manager Jen Carlson and assistant director of promotions Jen Chung at Nuthouse Hardware picking out paint. (Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority)
For Rieara, a lifelong Knicks fan herself, the response has been personal. She spent part of Monday watching people stop by and soak up the scene. On Tuesday, New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani came by to see it for himself and take photos with fans.
“To see it is a destination. When people are coming, taking pictures at the station, taking pictures of themselves, it is just an amazing, amazing thing to witness,” Rieara said. “Seeing New Yorkers — hopefully Knick fans — being part of this experience. So, we’re happy to sort of give that gift to our city and, of course, our customers.”
We’ve got a surprise for @nyknicks fans this week… Check out the station entrance at 34th St and 8 Av if you’re near @TheGarden! 💙🧡 pic.twitter.com/jwHilZEPcM
— MTA (@MTA) June 1, 2026
Rieara said she and her team have more ideas in the works. Actor and longtime Knicks fan Tracy Morgan recently recorded a Knicks-themed announcement for the MTA. Rapper Fat Joe served as a guest conductor on the 1 train. But don’t expect any other Knicks-colored subway entrances to pop up across the city.
“This is the only one,” Rieara said. “And other people are like, ‘Are you going to do others?’ And I think doing multiple sort of diminishes the experience.”
Rieara says this is the first time the MTA has painted a subway entrance in a specific team’s colors, but this isn’t the first time the agency has celebrated a local team’s championship. The MTA also displayed a congratulatory banner on Liberty Street for the New York Liberty after their 2024 title. Still, the response to the subway entrance revealed just how much New Yorkers connected with the gesture.
“We are trying to create fun, unique moments,” Rieara said, “and not standardize it in a way.”
As she rode the subway Tuesday, Rieara noted to one of her colleagues that the orange-and-blue entrance is so memorable that subway riders will be looking for the next big thing whenever a New York team has championship-level success. It’s a challenge the native New Yorker seems poised for.
“We might be a victim of our own success,” Rieara said. “This has definitely risen the standard, but each team is different. Their fan base is different. And we want to create these experiences tailored (to them) and be unique to the moment.”
As Rieara and her staff search for the next great idea, Knicks fans such as Price are just happy to enjoy the one in front of them.
“I’ve come out of this entrance many times,” Price said. “Not even just for Knicks games, just being in the city. And for them to do this, I feel like that’s showing the city is really behind this team. And I feel like, for once, we actually have a chance of the city being unified.
“One thing’s for certain, and one thing’s for sure: People understand that there’s only one basketball team in this city that truly unifies the entire city. Whether you’re from Staten Island, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, even Yonkers and upstate. The New York Knicks definitely do everything they can to bring the city together. And this is a great moment.”