Ad-Rock and Mike D attend unveiling of Beastie Boys Square
The intersection between Ludlow and Rivington streets in New York City has officially been named Beastie Boys Square, a tribute to the hip-hop group who were continually inspired by the city. The intersection featured on the album cover of their 1989 record, Paul’s Boutique.
The desire to name the location after the Beastie Boys was spurred on by the death of vocalist and bassist Adam Yauch, also known as MCA, in 2012. Two years later, the request was denied.
Almost a decade later, plans to create Beastie Boys Square finally received approval last summer and the unveiling took place on Saturday, September 9th.
Vocalist and drummer Michael Diamond, also known as Mike D, and vocalist and guitarist Adam Horovitz, also known as Ad-Rock, both attended the unveiling of the new square, which was also live-streamed.
Horovitz shared his gratitude both for the city and for their fans, stating, “Thank you for teaching us what to look at, what to listen to, what to wear, how to love, how to live.” He continued, “I wanna thank everyone that loves Beastie Boys music. I don’t really understand why, but I know that I love it, so in a way that makes us kind of friends, like we bonded over these weird records, so thank you.”
He concluded, “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?'”
Diamond shared his long-standing love for this specific part of the city, recalling, “We grew up elsewhere, but the Lower East Side was always this cool place that we wanted to go and hang out and somehow, the Lower East Side was gracious enough to have us and let us see so much incredible music.”
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