Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
You can now officially call the corner of Ludlow and Rivington Beastie Boys Square on the Lower East Side.
On Saturday afternoon, the city unveiled the new street blade during a ceremony that included remarks from founding members Michael "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz.
The two NYC natives seem humbled by the honor, and expressed their gratitude to the city for making them who they are today. (You can watch the ceremony via the Beastie Boys' YouTube account.)
"We could not have ever been what we have become without growing up in New York City and hearing all this incredible music, being around all this incredible art, being just around all these incredible people that's only in New York City," Mike D said.
"Thank you for teaching us what to look at, what to listen to, what to wear, how to love, how to live," Ad-Rock said before delivering the afternoon's best line. "It makes me really happy to know that some kid on the way to school 50 years from now is gonna look up and say, 'What the fuck is a Beastie Boy? Why do they get a square?'"
The ceremony included a tribute to Adam "MCA" Yauch, who died of cancer in 2012. Said Mike D: "He was our brother on this amazing journey that we all got to go through."
This corner played a starring role on the cover of the group's iconic 1989 album Paul's Boutique.
LeRoy McCarthy had been behind this effort and kept with it even after Community Board 3 voted 24 to 1 to reject the Beastie Boys Square application in January 2014. CB3 also reportedly barred McCarthy from reapplying for the street naming for five years.
McCarthy — sporting a "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" t-shirt on a fire escape above the ceremony — received props from the crowd...
Despite the swampy weather, people packed the corner for the event, which also commemorated 50 years of hip-hop.
Here are a few scenes from the crowd...
... and the moment it became official...
You can read this post for more about the new mural here by Brooklyn-based artist Danielle Mastrion
love that massive NYPD camera setup just above the street sign
ReplyDeleteThis whole thing is weird to me. Yes they had the album cover, but they're brooklyn boys.
ReplyDeleteTypical supportive comments I see. I was there and swampy is an understatement but it was a great feeling of community and belonging. Who cares that it's not in Brooklyn?
ReplyDeleteSince I'm Stuy High alumni (15th ST and 1st Ave location), I pinned out the fan wearing the iconic BB red “Stuyvesant Physical Education Leader” t-shirt.
ReplyDeleteMCA was the only one of the BBs born on Brooklyn. Mike D and Ad Rock were born in and grew up in Manhattan. Watch their remarks in the video — they talk about growing up in Manhattan and why the LES was a special place for them.
ReplyDelete:
ReplyDelete"A: People say, "I can't imagine how you grew up in Manhattan!" Somehow, they think that it can't possibly have been safe or productive."
"I remember going to the East Village for the first time as a fifteen-year- old and going to Tompkins Square Park. That really seemed like a pretty edgy thing to do. You didn't know if that was safe or not. Obviously, it's totally not like that anymore."
https://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2044758,00.html
Wish it was a City Square, a place for people to gather as a community, instead of a Street Corner with narrow sidewalks
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite celebrity sightings was Mr. Horovitz at the Chelsea Bed Bath & Beyond, down in the basement shopping for throw pillows.
ReplyDeleteLove it
DeleteWhy is the sign on the wrong corner? Should be in front of Paul's Boutique, no?
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