Bronx street named Hip Hop Boulevard

A portion of Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx was formally... — A portion of Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx was formally recognized by the City of New York as Hip Hop Boulevard on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016. Above, a view of an apartment building at 1520 Sedgwick Ave., which is known as the official birthplace of hip-hop; Clive DJ Kool Herc Campbell reportedly started mixing funk and soul in the community room circa 1973. Credit: Getty Images / Peter Kramer

By Emily Ngoemily.ngo@newsday.comFebruary 25, 2016

The naming of a Bronx street as “Hip Hop Boulevard” on Thursday inspired playful beefing among city officials over which borough best represents the genre.

The Bronx is the birthplace of hip-hop, Council member Vanessa Gibson said. The section of Sedgwick Avenue gaining special recognition was the site of block parties thrown in the 1970s by DJ Kool Herc and his sister Cindy, where breakbeat-heavy music and recited rhymes would influence generations to come, Gibson said.

A Queens council member, Donovan Richards, channeled rapper Nas in pointing out that his borough is home to another pioneer, Run-D.M.C.

“Queens runs hip-hop,” he said. “Queens runs this. Ask Russell Simmons.”

Council member Jumaane Williams threw in on behalf of Brooklyn: “We all know the Bronx birthed hip-hop, and Brooklyn raised it.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who in a lower Manhattan ceremony signed a bill co-naming 42 streets citywide, cast the rivalry as New York City versus Los Angeles.

“If you have friends on the West Coast, remember to tell them it all started here,” he joked.

De Blasio also approved the naming of a Brooklyn street for Carey Gabay, the aide to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo who was fatally shot last summer; one in Queens honoring NYPD Det. Randolph Holder, who was killed in the line of duty last October; and another in Queens for former Knicks forward Anthony Mason, who died last February.