The latest NYC hustle: $100+ to hold a Knicks parade spot
· Business Insider
San Antonio Express-News/Hearst Newspapers/San Antonio Express-News via Getty Images
Visit afnews.co.za for more information.
- The Knicks are set to celebrate their NBA championship with a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan on Thursday.
- The event has given rise to a mini gig economy, with people offering to hold spots and others seeking their services online.
- Multiple listings have cropped up on gig-work platform Airtasker, with asking prices ranging from $50 to $800.
One of the hottest pieces of real estate in New York City this week isn't an apartment. It's a piece of Lower Manhattan sidewalk along the Knicks' championship parade route — and some people are charging hundreds of dollars to hold one.
Ahead of Thursday's celebration, would-be line sitters are advertising their services online, offering to secure prime viewing spots as the procession winds from Bowling Green through the "Canyon of Heroes" to City Hall.
On Airtasker, a gig-work platform where users can hire people for tasks and errands, multiple Knicks parade-related listings have cropped up, with asking prices ranging from $50 to $800.
The listings come from both sides of the market: people offering to hold spots along the parade route, as well as fans looking to hire someone to wait in their place.
A screengrab of the Airtasker website showing listings related to the Knicks' championship parade.Airtasker
One listing offered $750 to someone who could secure three spots near Broadway and Barclay Street from midnight Wednesday until 8 a.m. Thursday, two hours before the parade is set to begin. The task had already been assigned by Tuesday night.
The parade comes after the Knicks ended a 53-year championship drought on Saturday, defeating the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
"Through near misses, heartbreak and a hope that every year could be our year, this city never stopped believing in the Knicks. And this team fulfilled that hope with grit, resilience and heart — just like the five boroughs itself," New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement on Saturday.
Following the parade, the mayor will present the Knicks with the keys to the city during a championship ceremony at City Hall Plaza. The city is also giving away 600 tickets to the event through a public lottery that closes at 11 a.m. on June 17.
Read the original article on Business Insider