‘Beastie Boys Square’ Denied by NYC Community Board
A Manhattan community board decided yesterday that it would not co-name the intersection of Ludlow and Rivington “Beastie Boys Square.” Beasties fan LeRoy McCarthy had been petitioning for the co-naming, à la the City’s Joey Ramone Place, since the intersection was where the cover photo of the rap trio’s 1989 LP Paul’s Boutique was shot. But the board voted 24 to 1 against the proposal and prevented McCarthy from refiling his application for at least another five years, DNAInfo reported.
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Among the qualifications the board requires for street co-naming are that an honoree must be deceased, which in this instance is Adam Yauch, and that he, she or, in this case, they have demonstrated 15 years of service to the community.
The board’s chairwoman, Gigi Li, said the board voted yesterday rather than in February, when McCarthy thought he could bring his petition back, because it thought McCarthy’s proposal would never meet the guidelines. “My decision was based on the fact that it did not meet the criteria and the fact that previously our most recent group of co-namings held each application to the high standard of meeting every single criteria we set out for co-namings,” she told DNAInfo.
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Earlier this month, the board had given McCarthy a preliminary rejection, according to Gothamist. But McCarthy pressed forward, gathering more signatures. The board’s district manager, Susan Stetzer, explained to McCarthy via email that the board voted yesterday so that “you not put in many hours of work and then have the board deny in February.” McCarthy said he was “blindsided” by the abruptness of the decision.
The one board member who voted in favor of the co-naming said he did so because he didn’t like the way his colleagues had decided to shut down McCarthy. “The wise thing and fair thing to have been done would be to let him return to the committee,” Chad Marlow told DNAInfo. “This isn’t about the Beastie Boys. It is about showing respect for the community.