Knickerbocker Avenue will be temporarily co-named “Alvarado Ave” for one year in honor of New York Knicks guard Jose “GTA” Alvarado, with a ceremony at 3 p.m. Saturday, October 3, at Knickerbocker Plaza in Bushwick, Council Member Sandy Nurse announced.
“Bushwick Knicks fans stand up!” Nurse wrote, inviting the neighborhood to “celebrate the Knicks’ historic championship win.”
The event’s flyer also lists Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez, Assembly Member Maritza Davila, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Representative Nydia Velázquez, along with Christian Celeste Tate, a candidate for Assembly District 54.
Tony’s Pizzeria is welcoming Alvarado to the neighborhood for the occasion. “Jose may not have grown up on Knickerbocker Avenue or was even born in our Bushwick Community… but we welcome and honor him as our Brooklyn brother,” the restaurant wrote on Instagram.
Alvarado, who grew up in Los Sures in Williamsburg, was traded to the Knicks in February and helped the team beat the San Antonio Spurs for the 2026 NBA title, the franchise’s first championship in 53 years. He is known as “Grand Theft Alvarado” for his knack for stealing the ball.
The day after the Knicks clinched the title, Alvarado joined the Knickerbocker Avenue Puerto Rican Day Parade in Bushwick.
In June, the city put up temporary signs for every player on the championship roster along Sixth and Seventh avenues in Manhattan for four weeks, with Alvarado’s at Sixth Avenue and Washington Place, according to the mayor’s office.
The ceremony is open to the public. Guests are asked to arrive at 2:30 p.m., and the ceremony begins at 3 p.m. at Knickerbocker Plaza, at the corner of Knickerbocker and Myrtle avenues.
Featured image: Josh Shub-Seltzer
