This Saturday, Sept. 9, Beastie Boys Square will officially be unveiled at the corner of Ludlow and Rivington Streets in Manhattan after the New York City Council approved the renaming.
The ceremony, taking place from 12-2 p.m. will feature appearances from Michael “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, including a DJ set by Jon Bless HiFi System.
The Beastie Boys were an American rap group from New York City, formed in 1981. The group was composed of Michael “Mike D” Diamond, Adam “MCA” Yauch, and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz. Beastie Boys has sold 20 million records in the United States and had seven platinum-selling albums from 1986 to 2004. They are the biggest-selling rap group since Billboard began recording sales in 1991.
The historic corner was once home to Paul’s Boutique—the namesake of the Beastie Boys’ sophomore LP, released in 1989. Cultural advocate LeRoy McCartney spearheaded the campaign, fighting for a decade. He also did similar landmark-naming campaigns, like the Wu-Tang Clan (Wu-Tang District in Staten Island) and The Notorious B.I.G. (Brooklyn’s Christopher Wallace Way), and credits Council Member Chris Marte with helping to push the renaming.
Last summer Marte gave credit to the group themselves for paving the way in the genre of hip-hop and thanked the local residents, businesses, politicians, and more who supported the fight for the street name. “I see it as a celebration. A celebration for the Lower East Side, a celebration for hip-hop, and especially a celebration for our community who has been organizing for a really long time to make this happen,” Marte also said.
The unveiling of Beastie Boys Square coincides with the ongoing celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, which includes the first-ever theatrical screening of Spike Jonze’s Beastie Boys Story, taking place at IFC Center on September 8 and 9.
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