As previously reported, Brooklyn resident LeRoy McCarthy wrote a petition to name the intersection of Ludlow and Rivington streets in New York's Lower East Side after the Beastie Boys. Tomorrow evening, a community board in lower Manhattan will vote for the corner to be renamed "Beastie Boys Square." The area was chosen because the corner is featured on the cover of the hip-hop trio's groundbreaking 1989 album, Paul's Boutique.
As Rolling Stone points out, the first step in renaming the corner is to get the measure passed by the Community Board then the City Council. McCarthy spoke to the New York Post about his chances saying, "[The City Council] are knowledgeable of hip-hop, a lot of them were raised on hip-hop — at their Sweet Sixteen parties and bar mitzvahs — so you don't have to explain to them who Biggie Smalls was. They don't necessarily have the preconceived negative approach to all hip-hop."
If the measure passes, it will be the second landmark to be dedicated to the Beastie Boys. Last May, Adam Yauch Park was dedicated in Brooklyn. McCarthy has also pushed for an intersection in Brooklyn to be named after Biggie Smalls. Both the Biggie and Beastie Boys' campaigns are part of a larger push to help hip-hop history be recognized in New York City. McCarthy hopes for a hip-hop artist or group to be recognized in all five boroughs. He is already scouting out a Wu-Tang spot in the Park Hill neighborhood of their native Staten Island.
Would you like "Beastie Boys Square" to become a reality? Who else would you like to see honored in New York City? Let us know in the comments section below!
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