Let’s Make It Happen: Rename Squibb Park to Adam Yauch Park

By on May 16, 2012 9:06 pm in Arts and Entertainment, Celebrity Residents

READ IMPORTANT UPDATE HERE.
Commenter “She’s Crafty” suggested in a comment on BHB that Squibb Park be renamed Adam Yauch Park to honor the Brooklyn Heights native and Beastie Boy MC who died earlier this month at the age of 47.

We couldn’t agree more. We hope you do too. A Facebook page has been set up to garner support and we encourage you to “like” it as well as voice and share your thoughts here in the comments.

Here’s our brief mission statement from FB:

Squibb Park in Brooklyn Heights, NY is currently undergoing a transformation into a skateboarding facility and gateway to Brooklyn Bridge Park. The Brooklyn Heights Blog community believes that it would be a fitting tribute to name it after Brooklyn Heights native, musician, humanitarian Adam Yauch (MCA) of the Beastie Boys. Adam Yauch Park sits directly across the street from the Harry Chapin Playground which is also named after a great Brooklyn Heights resident, musician and humanitarian. To show your support please like this page and share with your friends.


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  • David G.

    Maybe we could name the bridge after Adam Yauch since the park already has a historically fitting namesake.
    http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/B223F/highlights

  • She’s Crafty

    Since I’m so Crafty, you know I go for MCA. Squibb park sat fallow for years with no $$ influx from BMS, so I can only assume they didn’t give a sh*t. This is a really fitting memorial and we can make it happen if enough people like this so kick it people.

  • http://pistachiopony.com maria

    Hooray for Squibb and everything, but I don’t get how a park is a fitting namesake for a guy that invented suppositories.

    I’m moseying on over to https://www.facebook.com/AdamYauchPark and “liking” that idea.

    That park has been a suppository for long enough.

  • She’s Crafty

    Maria *loving you*!

  • She’s Crafty

    Homer, just a suggestion to push the mission statement to the top so they know it is a new skate park to be named after him. It got buried as more people visited/commented, which is a good thing, but I think people would like to know it’s a skate park and not just any other kind of park.

  • David on Middagh

    I like David G.’s idea of naming the bridge.

    I suggest “Beastie Bridge”.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    Maria if you don’t get it why don’t you read more about the accomplishments of Dr. Edward Robinson Squibb. You will see his contribution to humanity far outweighs that of Adam Yauch. Modern pharmaceuticals is something everyone benefits from. You may even owe your life to the efforts of Dr. Squibb.

  • She’s Crafty

    Arch/David, really? Bristol Myers Squibb should not be depending on a little park in Brooklyn that was abandoned for years, not supported by them at all during that time, to remember their efforts. In fact I almost guarantee if you contacted the Squibb family they would have no idea that that little, abandoned plot of land was named in remembrance of a relative of theirs. Why are you being so negative about this?

  • http://www.auralstimuli.com Chinatone

    I want my 7 year old PS8 student to skate at “Adam Yauch” skate park!!
    Everyone, Please “share” and “like” this. If social media is good for anything……..

  • http://www.auralstimuli.com Chinatone
  • Mark

    @ She’s crafty

    People are against it because it is a poor idea. I really liked MCA, but why not find a new park and name it after him. Or perhaps maybe a section of the new brooklyn bridge park that is yet to be created. Just because you don’t recognize the accomplishments of Squibb, doesn’t mean they should be forgotten. A little history for you…

    “After the war he ran the medical station at the Brooklyn Naval Yards. As a Navy physician, Squibb became disenchanted with the poor quality of medicines used on American military vessels and, as a result, in 1854 he invented an improved method of distilling ether, an anesthetic. He gave away his distillation method, rather than patent it for profit. In 1858 he left the military and started his own pharmaceutics manufacturing business in Brooklyn. His laboratory burned down three times, and in one of these instances an ether explosion left Squibb badly burned. In 1892 Squibb created a partnership with his two sons, Dr. Edward H. Squibb and Charles F. Squibb, the firm being known for generations afterwards as E. R. Squibb and Sons. Squibb died on October 25, 1900, at his home in Brooklyn, New York, from a ruptured blood vessel.”

  • Cranberry Beret

    I think the enormous smokestack with S-Q-U-I-B-B running down its length is memorial enough…

  • David G.

    I love the Beastie Boys but Edward Squibb deserves to be commemorated there because of the history at that exact location. That’s where everything happened for him.

    Maybe Pier 6, at the foot of Atlantic Ave would be more appropriate, especially considering the lyrics to Shadrach:

    “So I’m out pickin’ pockets at the Atlantic Antic/ And nobody wants to hear you ’cause your rhymes are so frantic.”

    It would be an awesome plaque.

    You also might want to consider reaching out to the Yauch and Beastie Boys families to see what they think.

  • Scrambler

    I’m all for changing the name. Adam did a lot more than sing in the Beastie Boys, he deserves it.

  • C.

    It’s a nice sentiment but aren’t all the Beastie Boys from Brooklyn Heights? So whenever Ad Rock and Mike D pass away (hopefully far into the future) are we going to rename other parks for them too?

  • http://brooklnheightsblog.com C Millette

    Squibb??? Please, it’s probably pharmaceutacals, radiation and chemo that killed Adam Yauch. I vote for a park in Adam’s name – he, a member of the BBoys, revolutionized different genres of music, when in the 90’s, it needed it most.

  • She’s Crafty

    No Ad Rock and Mike D are from Jersey and Manhattan.

  • She’s Crafty

    Also: the reason to rename that park is because it’s a skateboard park specifically. It’s not just some random idea to rename a park, whoo hoo. They could call the bridge after Squibb, and maybe hit BMS up for some $$ to contribute toward it.

  • Villager

    Great idea, throw out anything that resembles accomplishment in favor of pop culture.
    Now, go out and vote Obama ’12.

  • Slide

    Obama? How did he get into this? I guess if you have Obama Derangement Syndrome everything is his fault.

    BTW, I do plan to vote for Obama. Can’t wait actually.

  • jazz

    very nice villager . troll.

  • EAGLE

    The Park already has a namesake/dedication/memorial. Since most don’t know who Squibb is irrelevant. Find a new/undeveloped structure to commemorate to Yauch….or should we rename everything after fallen popstars?

  • DrewB

    Alright She’s Crafty, we bickered on other items, but I’m 100% with you on this! Maybe they can name the skate park after him, but still call the larger park Squibb Park. Something like “The Adam Yauch Bowl” or “The Adam Yauch Grind”

  • She’s Crafty

    Thanks @DrewB, that’s a good idea actually to rename just park of the park.

  • BH’er

    BBP or a section of it seems more fitting … it’s brand new, nice and well known, and a part of BH.

    it may Garner more fame and visitors for our tremendous park than we would otherwise prefer, but to honor Adam, it would be an honor to do so.

    i agree with asking the family and BB what they want, but good ideas

  • She’s Crafty

    Just so everyone knows, it’s fairly common for parks to be renamed in NYC. And, when they are renamed, they can be named after entertainers too (though Yauch was also an activist).

  • Luke C

    Good debate, I was for the renaming but after reading the comments, decided that we can surely find another location to honor Adam Yauch. The skate park would be amusing but we’re honoring him not just for his punkish early years but the contributions to culture and human rights that marked his whole career. The concert and film venue on Pier 1 lacks a name, we’ve got 4 more piers to be built out, downtown Brooklyn is developing fast.

    Alternately we could use Solomonic wisdom and rename it Squibb-Yauch Park. Uses up a lot of hard-to-place Scrabble tiles.

  • Brooklyn Tea

    Changing the name of Squibb Park makes absolutely no sense. The same way changing the Triborough Bridge to the RFK bridge was a waste of time and tax payer money.

  • resident

    The name of the park may actually be part of the conveyance from Squibb to NYC, so changing it might not be an option. I also would feel weird changing the name of a park actually dedicated to a man that made his contributions at that very spot.

    Yauch was a huge basketball guy (big Knicks fan, did a documentary on HS basketball players, etc.). How about naming the new basketball courts at BBP after him? The Adam Yauch Courts at BBP.

  • PJL

    Not to mention that Mr. Yauch deserves to be recognized with something new/his own….

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