New York City Approves "Beastie Boys Square" After Nine-Year Battle

After a grueling nine-year grassroots campaign, New York will honor hip-hop group Beastie Boys by officially renaming the Lower East Side corner at Ludlow and Rivington “Beastie Boys Square.” The location is featured on the cover of the group’s second album, 1989’s Paul’s Boutique.

A group of fans initially made the request to New York City Council in 2013, but that and other previous attempts were unsuccessful. The request was finally approved on Thursday, July 14th, 2022, nine years after it was initially submitted.

One of the campaign’s main proponents was former Bad Boy Records representative LeRoy McCarthy, who also worked on the city’s Notorious B.I.G. and Wu-Tang Clan street signs.

“It has been a long road to get Beastie Boys Square accomplished, but I am happy to see New York government formally embracing the indigenous arts and culture of hip hop, and the street sign is very appropriate because hip-hop is from the NYC streets,” McCarthy told the New York Post.

The battle to rename the square for the Beastie Boys hinged on whether the group met the city’s guidelines, which include a “demonstrated and consistent voluntary commitment to the area,” according to Susan Stetzer of CB3, who voted not to approve the measure in 2019.

The decision to rename the square is the latest move in New York’s slow embrace of its hip-hop heritage. A two-floor Universal Hip-Hop Museum will open in 2024 to highlight the five pillars of the music genre—DJing, emceeing, break dancing, graffiti, and knowledge about the genre itself.