Proposal for Beastie Boys street honour rejected

Officials in New York have denied a proposal from fans of the Beastie Boys to rename a street intersection featured on their 1989 album, Paul’s Boutique, after the hip-hop trio. Superfan LeRoy McCarthy launched a petition in December (13), in a bid to urge local officials to consider changing the corner of Ludlow Street and Rivington Street in Manhattan to Beastie Boys Square.
Earlier this month (Jan14), the proposal was temporarily rejected after officials expressed concerns it lacked the full backing of nearby residents. McCarthy was given until next month (Feb14) to gather 150 more signatures from people living in the area.
However, on Wednesday (29Jan14), board members voted 24 to 1 against the proposal and prevented McCarthy from refiling his application for at least five years.
Board chairman Gigi Li tells DNAinfo.com, “My decision was based on the fact that it did not meet the criteria.”
McCarthy says, “I was blindsided… and not given the opportunity to present the full material they requested. They did not give me a chance to be heard at the committee, which was the arrangement that had been made.”
The Beastie Boys already have one New York honour to their name – last May (13), a park in Brooklyn was renamed Adam Yauch Park after the band’s late rapper, who died of cancer in 2012.