Pics: Adam Yauch Park honors beloved Beastie

Whitney Matheson | USATODAY

This morning Beastie Boys fans of all ages, from babies to grandparents, gathered at a Brooklyn playground to celebrate one of the borough's most famous and influential musicians: Adam Yauch.

The space now known as Adam Yauch Park may take up only about one-tenth of an acre, but it's a place where Yauch (aka MCA) spent his formative years. I attended today's renaming ceremony, which welcomed fans, friends and family members.

Several folks took the mic to honor MCA: Adam Horovitz, aka Ad-Rock, noted "how cool it is to have an Adam Yauch Park for other crazy New York kids." He was remembered as a "New Yorker to the core" by New York City Council member and longtime fan Steven Levin. Brooklyn Borough president Marty Markowitz, a man in his 60s, even rapped his own version of the Beasties' Open Letter to NYC.

The standing ovation, however, was saved for Yauch's mother, Frances Yauch, who spoke eloquently about her son before cutting the ribbon on the park's new plaque.

"All the kids he knew in the '80s had bands; that's what kids did," she said of MCA's youth. "Adam made us so proud of him, and I'm proud to have this park in his name."

Below are a few photos from the event, in which Dutch iris bulbs were handed out to "serve as a symbol of life and inspire good memories of Adam Yauch." I was happy to be there with my baby daughter in tow:

Adam Yauch Park is located in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood at the corner of Columbia Place and State Street.