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Beastie Boys Square may never see the light of day in New York City. A chance to name the intersection featured on the Beastie Boys‘ 1989 album cover, ‘Paul’s Boutique,’ has been put to an end — for now– after the proposal was rejected on Tuesday (Jan. 28).
As The Boombox previously reported, Brooklyn, N.Y., resident LeRoy McCarthy started a petition to rename the intersection at Ludlow and Rivington Streets in Manhattan’s Lower East Side Beastie Boys Square. After the first meeting with Community Board 3, the proposal was rejected but was given a second chance if McCarthy could get the support and signatures of the surrounding residents and businesses around the proposed intersection by February.
However, after presenting the updated set of signatures to the board (signatures are well over 1,500,) a unanimous vote denied the proposal. In addition, McCarthy cannot reapply or submit the proposal again for the next five years, DNAinfo reports.
Unlike the previous meeting, McCarthy did not attend the voting because he withdrew his application — he didn’t realize it would even go to a vote. He reportedly even received an email telling him the proposal would be on the agenda for February’s meeting. However, it seems that the Community Board 3 had other plans.
“I was blindsided,” McCarthy said. “Once again I was blindsided and not given the opportunity to present the full material they [CB3] requested. They did not give me a chance to be heard at the committee, which was the arrangement that had been made.”
Since the Jan. 14 meeting, McCarthy has since collected 200 more signatures in support for the naming of the intersection. It is unknown if any of those signatures were from the surrounding residents or business located at that intersection.
Despite additional signatures McCarthy collected, some members of Community Board 3 felt strongly that the proposal didn’t meet the requirements. And as far as the application withdrawal, which McCarthy was told to do at the last meeting, the board saw that more as a proposal in “pending” not withdrawn.
There is no word yet on what McCarthy’s next plan of action is, but for now, it looks like the homage to ‘Paul’s Boutique’ won’t be happening anytime soon.
