Music

Beastie Boys celebrate renamed NYC intersection: ‘Why do they get a square?’

They’re so versatile.

The Beastie Boys were immortalized in New York history Saturday when the street corner featured on the cover of the hip-hop group’s 1989 album was christened “Beastie Boys Square,” .

Speaking at the ceremony, former band members Ad-Rock, 56, and Mike D, 57, thanked š’†™their fans for making theiršŸ§ø dreams come true.

ā€œThank you [to New York] for teaching us what to look at, what to listen to, what to wear, how to love, how to live,ā€ said Rock, born Adam Horovitz. “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, ā€˜What the f–k is a Beastie Boy? Why do they get a square?ā€™ā€

Mike D, born Michael Diamond, added that “we could not have become what we became without growing up in New York City.ā€

Throngs of fans turned out to watch former band members Ad-Rock, 56, and Mike D, 57, accept the honor. Aristide Economopoulos for NY Post
ā€œThank you [to New York] for teaching us what to look at, what to listen to, what to wear, how to love, how to live,ā€ said Rock, born Adam Horovitz. ADAM GRAY/AFP via Getty Images

The Post reached out to the Beastie Boysā„± for commeā™nt.

The dedication foš’€°llows a decade-long campaign to have the Lower East Side intersection of Ludlow and RivingšŸ°ton streets renamed.

A proposal was overwhelmingly rejected by a Manhattan community board in 2014.

ā€œCB3 voted it down because it did not meet guideline criteria,ā€ which includes a minimum of 10 years community involvement and consistent voluntary commitment to the area, Susan Stetzer, district manager at Community Board 3, told The Post in 2019.

“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, ā€˜What the f–k is a Beastie Boy? Why do they get a square?'” Horovitz continued. Adam GRAY / AFP
Mike D, born Michael Diamond, added that “we could not have become what we became without growing up in New York City.ā€ Aristide Economopoulos for NY Post

Finallyā™“, in July 2022, the renaming garnered approval.

“As many of us know, once the Beastie Boys hit the scene, it really changed the hip-hop game,ā€ council member Christopher Marte said last year.

ā€œI 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 thišŸ¦©s happen.ā€

Lź¦eRoy McCarthy, who launched the initial petition, told The Post at tšŸ„ƒhe time that the renaming ā€œtook a long time, but hip-hop donā€™t stop.ā€

“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,” said McCarthy.

The celebration also comes as the group, which was active from 1981 to 2012, announced it had released a vinyl copy of to celebrate the album’s 25th anniversary.