STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — For lifelong Knicks fan Scott Simas, winning a commemorative New York Knicks-themed city Department of Sanitation litter basket was almost as unexpected as the team’s championship run.
The Dongan Hills resident was one of just five New Yorkers selected from more than 125,000 entries in a citywide raffle held by DSNY.
Now he is the proud owner of a full-size blue-and-orange litter basket created to celebrate the Knicks’ title season while encouraging New Yorkers to keep city streets clean.
“I never thought we’d actually win,” Simas said with a laugh.
His wife, Gina, entered the drawing on his behalf, figuring it would be fun to take a chance.
“She thought it would be cool for me to have a Knicks-themed basket around,” Simas said.
The couple traveled to DSNY headquarters on Manhattan’s West Side to pick up the roughly 30-pound basket.
“It was pretty neat,” Simas recalled. “I was more amazed by the people who had to take public transportation home carrying a 31-pound garbage pail.”
For lifelong Knicks fan Scott Simas, winning a commemorative New York Knicks-themed Department of Sanitation litter basket was almost as unexpected as the team’s championship run.
The Dongan Hills resident was one of just five New Yorkers selected from more than 125,000 entries in a citywide raffle held by the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY). (Courtesy of Scott Simas)(Courtesy of Scott Simas)
For Simas, the prize represents decades of Knicks memories.
A lifelong Staten Islander, he became a fan as a child when his father brought him and his brother to games at Madison Square Garden during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
“My father used to get tickets through work,” Simas said. “We’d go to the Garden together. As a little kid, seeing those players up close was incredible. They looked like giants.”
Although those Knicks teams never captured a championship, Simas remained a loyal fan through the years.
This spring’s playoff run even became a distraction during his Wednesday night bowling league.
“You’d forget about bowling because everyone was turned around watching the TVs,” he said. “Everything stopped when the Knicks were playing. It was a New York thing.”
Now that the basket is home on Staten Island, Simas is still deciding how best to display it.
His original idea was to place it outside during backyard parties, but after seeing it in person, he changed his mind.
“It’s too nice,” he said. “I don’t want to ruin it.”
For lifelong Knicks fan Scott Simas, winning a commemorative New York Knicks-themed Department of Sanitation litter basket was almost as unexpected as the team’s championship run.
The Dongan Hills resident was one of just five New Yorkers selected from more than 125,000 entries in a citywide raffle held by the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY). (Courtesy of Scott Simas)(Courtesy of Scott Simas)
Instead, he’s considering transforming it into a table by placing a custom-cut glass top over the opening.
“It’s definitely going to be a conversation piece,” Simas said. “Right now it’s in storage while I figure out exactly how I want to do it.”
The retired letter carrier spent 33 years with the U.S. Postal Service before retiring last year.
“I understand the tough job Sanitation workers have working in every type of weather,” he said. “I always try to get out there and give them a bottle of water. I understand what you guys go through with the heat and cold, it’s nothing new to me. I do appreciate it.”
DSNY Commissioner Gregory Anderson said the raffle was designed to celebrate the Knicks’ championship while reminding New Yorkers to dispose of trash properly.
“The celebration of our championship team continues,” Anderson said in a statement. “We saw during last month’s ticker tape parade some strong enthusiasm for these commemorative baskets.
“Today, we remind New Yorkers that you don’t have to make a mess on our sidewalks or steal public property to own a piece of history.”
“And we remind all New Yorkers that littering is an offensive foul, and putting trash in a litter basket is a slam dunk.”
The commemorative baskets are the same size as those found on city streets, standing about 28 inches tall, measuring 21.5 inches across at the top and weighing approximately 30 pounds.
The other winners were Alfonso Bravo of Kingsbridge Heights in the Bronx; Daniel LeVert of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn; Mia Manantan of East Harlem; and Gabriela Manzanares of Long Island City.
Although only five people took home the full-size baskets, DSNY noted that fans looking for a similar keepsake can purchase smaller Knicks-themed wastebaskets and pen holders through Only NY.