NEW YORK, NY – June 18, 2026
Walter Edwards, Huntington Deputy Superintendent of Highways is a Volunteer Contributor for Huntington Matters.
The day started with the 3:53 a.m. Long Island Rail Road train. For the first 20 minutes, it was calm, but as we got closer to New York City, the train started filling up fast. I was thinking we were going to beat everyone there. Boy, was I wrong.
We arrived at Penn Station, and it looked like a parade had already started. It was amazing seeing nothing but Knicks gear everywhere. As a die-hard Knicks fan, I loved every second of it.
Then we hit the subway. It was shoulder to shoulder, and we could barely move for 20 minutes. Once we got outside, it was unbelievable. No exaggeration – there were probably 10,000 people waiting to check in at my location alone. I can only imagine what the other checkpoints looked like. People were pushing, it was packed, and I saw people fainting left and right. If you’re claustrophobic, this definitely was not the place to be.
The checkpoint was supposed to open at 6:00 a.m., but it didn’t start moving until about 6:40 a.m. Meanwhile, more and more people kept showing up. Mayhem doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Once I finally got through, I rushed to find a spot. It wasn’t the best location, but we made it work. I will say this – our local officials, led by Huntington Supervisor Ed Smyth and his team, would have put together a much better plan than what I experienced that day.
At the end of the day, it was an incredible experience … and a very tiring one. 😂 Seeing all the Knicks fans come together was something special.
But when the Knicks win again next year, I’ll be watching the parade from home. Never again! LOL 🧡💙
