Res 0536-2026

Res. No. 536 ..Title Resolution declaring June 13 as New York Knicks Day in the City of New York to celebrate the contributions of the world-class basketball team to the City's culture and civic identity ..Body By Council Members Maloney, Riley, Far�as, Marte, Louis, The Speaker (Council Member Menin) and Council Members Hudson, Thomas-Henry, Won, Cab�n and Wilson Whereas, On June 13, 2026, in San Antonio, the New York Knickerbockers ("the Knicks") won the National Basketball Association (NBA) Championship for the third time in the team's history and the first time in 53 years, besting the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the Finals series; and Whereas, During the Finals, all New York City (NYC) institutions seemed to become Knicks fans, from a subway entrance near Madison Square Garden newly decorated in Knicks' orange and blue, to the Empire State Building and 15 other buildings and bridges lit up at night in orange and blue, to the public libraries making e-books and audiobooks about basketball and the Knicks instantly accessible, to the Knicks-based art and exhibits on display at NYC's finest museums; and Whereas, All New Yorkers across the boroughs enjoyed the Knicks-themed food treats that abounded, including orange and blue bagels and cupcakes, frosted cookies and doughnuts, and ice cream and Italian ices; and Whereas, Old and young New Yorkers alike were decked out in orange and blue, from jerseys to face paint to new tattoos to nail polish; and Whereas, Some 2026 NYC fans still remember when the Knicks won their first NBA Championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers in an exhausting seven-game series on May 8, 1970; and Whereas, Some NYC fans proudly remember when the Knicks won their second NBA Championship, again beating the Los Angeles Lakers, this time in five games on May 10, 1973; and Whereas, Both of those now-iconic Knicks championship teams boasted the legendary skills of Hall of Famers, including team captain Willis Reed, Walt "Clyde" Frazier, Bill Bradley, and Dave DeBusschere; and Whereas, Reed was chosen as the NBA's Most Valuable Player (MVP) for 1969-1970 as well as the NBA Finals MVP in 1970 and again in 1973; and Whereas, Hall of Famer Earl "The Pearl" Monroe joined the Knicks in time for the winning 1973 season and made it into the starting five along with Reed, Frazier, Bradley, and DeBusschere, who had become household names across the five boroughs; and Whereas, Frazier, Bradley, and Monroe all attended 2026 Finals games, passing down their legacy as one class of Knicks icons to the new class of 2026; and Whereas, Frazier, still a color commentator for the Knicks, watched from the sidelines in his always-fashionable attire, which consisted of extravagant and creative orange-and-blue tailor-made suits for the 2026 Finals; and Whereas, Monroe has gone on to give back to New Yorkers by supporting the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School, a charter high school in the Bronx, which is opening a new campus in the poorest Congressional district in the United States, to "hopefully serve enough people who [will] go on to do great things," according to Monroe; and Whereas, In a recent interview in The New York Times, Monroe noted that he and his teammates were "part of the fabric of what the city was all about, and that was a good thing" and that "[w]e were Knicks ... [b]ut we were New Yorkers as well"; and Whereas, Of the time between the last championship season in 1973 and now, Joe Vardon wrote in The Athletic that "[t]here were the near-misses in 1994 and 1999 ... Names that will be a part of Knicks lore forever ... Bernard King and Patrick Ewing and John Starks ... Charles Oakley and Allan Houston and Jeremy Lin and Carmelo Anthony"; and Whereas, Those Knicks will take their place in the annals of team history alongside the legends of 1970 and 1973; and Whereas, The newest class can now also take a place in Knicks lore as the latest stars to grace the court at Madison Square Garden, known as "the world's most famous arena," and deliver a championship to NYC; and Whereas, It is fitting for all New Yorkers to remember and celebrate what the Knicks have meant to NYC and especially to NYC sports fans since 1946 when they were founded as part of the new Basketball Association of America, now the NBA; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York declares June 13 as New York Knicks Day in the City of New York to celebrate the contributions of the world-class basketball team to the City's culture and civic identity. LS #24718 6/17/26 RHP 1