The singer, a Hell’s Kitchen native, stunned fans as she stepped out on stage to perform with her son on the piano outside City Hall.
After New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani awarded the Knicks the keys to the city, Keys took center stage to perform.
It came after millions of jubilant Knicks fans celebrated their team’s championship victory with a stunning ticker-tape parade in downtown Manhattan on Thursday morning.
The players were greeted by a fervent crowd of New Yorkers in orange and blue as they made their way up Broadway to City Hall after crowd chaos, hospitalizations and arrests marred the build-up earlier in the morning.
Thousands of Knicks supporters lined up overnight for a glimpse at history and Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby and Co were in high spirits as they partied with fans along the short route.
Alicia Keys performed Empire State of Mind at the ceremony to celebrate the Knicks’ title
New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani awarded the Knicks the keys to the city at City Hall
Karl-Anthony Towns smoked a huge cigar and carried the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals trophy as fans screamed in delight as they battled for a glimpse of their heroes.
Brunson, who spoke with New York Governor Kathy Hochul before boarding his boat, posed for pictures with his wife Ali and their young daughter Jordyn while his family celebrated alongside him.
‘In the words of Jalen, I have no words,’ said Sandra Brunson, the mother of the NBA Finals MVP and Knicks captain. ‘It was all worth it.’
Hollywood stars Timothee Chalamet, Ben Stiller and Spike Lee were also in attendance after being almost ever-present during the playoff run. Fellow Knicks superfans Tracy Morgan and Chris Rock also boarded a float along Broadway.
‘I’ve never been to a parade – ever – and I’m glad it’s this one,’ Lee said.
Knicks icon Walt ‘Clyde’ Frazier was in the first car of the parade, leading the players up Broadway’s iconic ‘Canyon of Heroes’ in a stylish convertible wearing his championship rings. Frazier won the NBA title in 1970 and 1973 but never got the parade he deserved.
Head coach Mike Brown sang ‘Who Let The Dogs Out’ in a wild moment before they had even boarded the floats and the Knicks’ billionaire owner James Dolan fist pumped with the crowd.
Mikal Bridges brought his dog Sonny, an eight-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, along for the ride and carried a video camera with him to ensure he could soak up the remarkable day.
Millions of jubilant New York Knicks fans celebrated their team’s NBA championship victory
Karl-Anthony Towns smokes a huge cigar as the Knicks enjoyed their NBA title parade
NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson poses with his wife Ali and their daughter Jordyn at the parade
Hollywood star Timothee Chalamet greeted fans as he made his way to the start of the parade
Anunoby, who scored the go-ahead basket in Game 4 on a tip-in with 1.2 seconds left, left his float to interact with fans, holding the NBA Cup in-season championship trophy in one hand and a bottle of Patron tequila in the other.
Anunoby welcomed New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani onto his float during the early stages of the parade. Mamdani, a passionate Knicks fans, was also caught on camera dancing with Towns.
The Knicks’ victory – after a 53-year drought – has electrified New Yorkers in recent weeks, and Mamdani predicted that the parade might be one of the biggest in the city’s history.
The NYPD announced that all the viewing pens along the route were full less than three hours before the procession started, packed by thousands of fans who flooded into the city last night and in the early hours.
Alicia Keys, the singer who collaborated with Jay-Z on the New York-loving 2009 hit ‘Empire State of Mind,’ performed at the special City Hall ceremony where Mamdani gave the Knicks roster the keys to the city.
Police deployed 10,000 officers to secure the event, which followed chaotic street celebrations and some violence during the Knicks’ run to victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.
‘We want people to enjoy this moment,’ Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a planning meeting Wednesday, ‘but public safety comes first.’
Some 650 sanitation workers have been assigned to clean up what could be tens of thousands of pounds of debris, if recent history is any guide.
Thousands of fans slept rough on the streets overnight to get the best viewing spots, while millions more have descended on the city to get a glimpse of their heroes.
Millions of Knicks fans are in New York to celebrate their NBA champions in Thursday’s parade
Fans scrambled to get a quick glance of their heroes, using anything they could to get a view
There were chaotic scenes on the subway as the systems quickly became overwhelmed
Fans were forced to scale garbage trucks and street poles to try and get a glimpse of the team
People streamed into the area on crammed subways, looking to get as close as they could or find any elevated spot to catch a glimpse.
Several blocks from the parade route, fans stood shoulder to shoulder – sometimes on each other´s shoulders – or climbed traffic lights, sanitation trucks or Knicks-colored buckets they´d brought from home. Far away on the Brooklyn Bridge, people gathered just to hear the loudspeakers.
At one point before the parade, a small group of people were crushed against a barrier near Fulton Street, a key subway hub, pinned between a swelling crowd and a group of police officers shoving the barrier to keep fans penned in.
‘I had to be here today,’ said Shareefa Wallace, 34, who got up at 3am to make her way from Long Island. She grew up in the city going to Knicks games, and she sported the souvenir jersey of one of the legends from that era, Patrick Ewing.
Nearby bars and delis filled with fans, some wishing they’d arrived at dawn. But many seemed at peace with the fact that they would only experience the parade from a distance.
‘We’re fine with the fray, we just want to be with the New York energy and the New York vibe,’ said Jean Strong, who came to the parade from Harlem with his nephew and sister.
