The Knicks\u2019 tiniest fans can still throw a big party. The Children\u2019s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) hosted a \u201ckid-sized championship celebration\u201d on June 17 to give the city\u2019s children a place to celebrate their win safely.<\/p>\n
The free event took place on the block where the CMOM is located on West 83rd Street between Broadway and Amsterdam. Police cars and fencing secured the block, which soon was filled with little orange and blue T-shirts, caps, and memorabilia (plus, a little parking lot exclusively for strollers).<\/p>\n
Amy Schumer and Jessica Seinfield highlighted the event as the parade\u2019s \u201cGrand Marshals.\u201d The turnout was notable\u2014children and caregivers lined the block to the point where mobility was limited, though the event was always under control. Kids played arcade basketball, painted flags and cardboard basketballs, and enjoyed bubble guns and confetti cannons. There was hardly a second where the air wasn\u2019t decorated with blue and orange confetti and bubbles.<\/p>\n
By the CMOM entrance, an Uncommon Schools\u2019 student drumline performed amid the NY-themed classics like Jay-Z and Alicia Keys\u2019 \u201cEmpire State of Mind\u201d and cover of Frank Sinatra\u2019s \u201cTheme from New York, New York.\u201d<\/p>\n
The CMOM celebration came one day before an estimated two million fans jammed into Lower Manhattan for the Knicks\u2019 official ticker-tape parade, which culminated at City Hall when Mayor Zohran Mamdani presented each team member, coaches and even Spike Lee with a symbolic key to the city.<\/p>\n
The June 18 parade began at 10 a.m. Young New Yorkers were petitioning Mamdani to either cancel school or move the parade. Mamdani denied those requests. CMOM\u2019s team said that their event was not meant to be a negative response to the city\u2019s decision but rather a positive space where kids could celebrate safely and a day early.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew that the parade tomorrow will be for adults,\u201d CMOM communications director Ariel Handelman said at the event on June 16. \u201cWe wanted something safe and for kids.\u201d She described the event as \u201ckid-centric, kid-focused, and put together in a New York minute.\u201d Handelman said that they put the celebration together quickly\u2014the Knicks only defeated in the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday June 13 after all\u2014 with all the help they could get.<\/p>\n
CMOM CEO Dana Schub said she was inspired to launch the event \u201cevery time the Knicks had a win and [she] saw the positivity and energy in our city,\u201d from New Yorkers young and old. She said that many parents, understandably, don\u2019t love the idea of bringing their young children to city parades attended by millions of adults crowded into a dozen downtown city blocks.<\/p>\n
CMOM isn\u2019t new to this strategy. Schub compared the Knicks celebration to CMOM\u2019s New Years Eve festivities, which take place during the day on December 30 and 31. New Years celebrations in New York, like the ball drop at midnight in Times Square, are another scene that parents may not feel inclined to bring their children.<\/p>\n
Thus, the CMOM Knicks event was their way of recreating the same ticker-tape celebration but \u201csmaller, and more contained.\u201d With the event limited to one city block, Schub said it was intended to be \u201csafe, sane, and celebratory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Safe, sane, and celebratory it was. When asked about his presence at the event, young attendee Leo said that he was \u201chappy the Knicks won\u201d while boasting a bright blue Knicks tee. He said that he shot a basketball at the arcade stand, and pulled out a flat wooden basketball that he had decorated with blue and orange markers. Fellow attendee, young Shiloh, said that she wanted to \u201csee Jalen Brunson,\u201d unsurprisingly given the tiny Brunson jersey she wore. Despite some cloudy skies and a couple of raindrops, CMOM gave these young basketball fans their time to celebrate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Knicks\u2019 tiniest fans can still throw a big party. The Children\u2019s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) hosted a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271734,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,63,104378],"class_list":["post-274305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-west-83rd-street"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}