'Sesame Street' Is Now On The Upper West Side

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The beloved muppets who reside on "Sesame Street" descended on the Upper West Side on Wednesday to celebrate the television show's 50th anniversary.

Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Cookie Monster and The Count joined city politicians Wednesday morning to celebrate the permanent co-naming of West 63rd Street and Broadway as Sesame Street. The ceremony answered the decades-old question: "can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?"

Mayor Bill de Blasio even used the occasion to poke fun at himself, alluding to his critics' penchant of likening him to Sesame Street's 8-foot-2 resident.

"I hope at some point in these proceedings, I get formally introduced to a long lost relative of mine. His name is Big Bird – you may of heard of him," de Blasio said at the top of his remarks.

"Fifty years of extraordinary programming, 50 years of making people’s lives better, 50 years of helping children believe in themselves. It’s absolutely amazing. Sesame Street changed this country," the mayor added.

De Blasio also took the opportunity to declare May 1, 2019 as "Sesame Street Day" in New York City.

Anyone who has watched Sesame Street may think that West 63rd Street and Broadway is a curious choice for the co-naming. The area doesn't exactly resemble the fictional neighborhood — there are more high-rises than row houses and Lincoln Center is a few blocks away — but the intersection is home to the headquarters of the Sesame Workshop, a nonprofit dedicated to children's education.

The nonprofit has planned a nationwide, 10-city road trip to celebrate Sesame Street's 50th season and will be hosting its event in New York City on June 1.

"As we celebrate our decades of impact and look ahead to the next 50 years, "Sesame Street’s" timeless lessons remain the same: Everyone, no matter who they are or where they are from, is equally deserving of respect, opportunity, and joy," Steve Youngwood, Sesame Workshop’s chief operating officer, said in a statement.