Yauch in 2007 Image by Getty Images

You’ve got to fight for your right — to rename a New York City park for the late Beastie Boy Adam “MCA” Yauch.

That’s the message from a fast-growing movement of fans who are urging legislators to rechristen Brooklyn’s State Street Basketball Courts — and possibly State Street Park — after the fallen Jewish rapper, who succumbed to cancer this month.

A May 16 comment on the Brooklyn Heights Blog apparently sparked the renaming campaign. A reader called “She’s Crafty” responded to a post about New York State Senator Daniel Squadron’s tribute to Yauch by calling for a rebranding of the neighborhood’s Squibb Park. “MCA boarded in the Heights as a kid so what better memorial? Would be nice to also have it right across from Chapin Park: 2 musical geniuses side by side,” she opined.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

But as gossip site Vulture reported today, city officials “weren’t keen on the group’s original choice… on account of it already being named for someone else (pharmaceutical manufacturer Dr. Edward Robinson Squibb).” According to the renaming movement’s Facebook page, the effort then shifted to State Street Park in Brooklyn Heights. The page has snowballed to nearly 1700 “likes” since launching a few days ago.

In a post yesterday, the Brooklyn Heights Blog also revealed that fellow Beastie Boy Adam “AdRock” Horovitz and his wife Kathleen Hanna have committed to repairing the basketball courts at State Street and renaming them after Yauch. “I just wanted to let you know that Adam ‘Adrock’ Horovitz has already begun working with the Parks Commissioner to fix up and rename State Street Park where Yauch actually played as a kid to Adam Yauch Park. It would be great to get people behind THIS idea as it won’t hurt the Squibb family….Thanks, Kathleen Hanna,” she said in an email.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount