It's Official: "Beastie Boys Square" Has Been Added to Community Board 3's March Agenda

After back and forth over an initiative to name a Lower East Side intersection after Beastie Boys, it's been added to Community Board 3's agenda meeting. 

After much back and forth over an initiative to name a Lower East Side intersection in honor of the Beastie Boys, the matter has been officially added to an upcoming Community Board 3 agenda meeting. 

In January, CB3 voted 24 to one (with an abstention) to reject LeRoy McCarthy's application to co-name the intersection of Rivington and Ludlow Streets "Beastie Boys Square." The corner served as the setting for the cover of the group's 1989 album, Paul's Boutique.

After the proposal was rejected, CB3 member Chad Marlowsent Complex an email earlier this month announcing that the issue had been placed on the board's March agenda. "After receiving my letter (and with a HUGE assist from Complex News' video clip of the withdrawal actually happening at the Transportation Committee hearing), CB3 relented and the Beastie Boys Square item is back on the Transportation Committee agenda for March," he wrote. 

Immediately following this revelation, McCarthy told Complex that he was still awaiting verification from CB3. In an email received this week, he confirmed the news, announcing that he will present the application to the board once again on Mar. 11. "[On] March 11th, Beastie Boys Square will be presented to CB3. When successful there, it will be [presented] before the full board on March 25th. After the community board phase, it will go to the City Council some time in the spring," he explained.

McCarthy added that the notice the matter received following the circumstances of the initial rejection helped bring it back into consideration. "The media attention helped tremendously," he said. "Complex TV's video of CB3 contradicting themselves was sent to the Manhattan Borough President's office, which helped the investigation."

After a Jan. 14 meeting, McCarthy agreed to withdraw his application when the board instructed him to retrieve 500 signatures of community support in order to strengthen it. The application was then voted on without his knowledge, a move Chairwoman Gigi Li attempted to justify to DNAinfo, saying many board members were not confident that McCarthy's application would meet the requirements. For the record, the stipulations for co-naming state that a candidate be deceased, have the support of the community and have displayed no less than 15 years of community involvement.

Li also mentioned that, even though the Jan. 14 meeting concluded with McCarthy's application being withdrawn, "pending" was what the board actually meant. In a phone call to Complex, Marlow criticized Li for her deceit, saying "It can’t be the opinion of the chair of the board that 'it's not what we say to applicants, it’s what we secretly mean.'"

McCarthy's dedication has ultimately paid off, as he's been granted a fair chance to present his efforts to CB3. Regardless of the outcome, the board's actions are now under a microscope, making them more likely to be equitable at the next meeting.

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RELATED: Another Day, Another Struggle: Brooklyn Community Board Members Deem Notorious B.I.G. Too Fat, Violent to Have Street Corner Named After Him
RELATED: There's a Petition to Rename Brooklyn Corner After Notorious B.I.G.  
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RELATED: "Beastie Boys Square" Added to Upcoming Community Board 3 Agenda 

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