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This week, Adam Gopnik, New Yorker writer and father of Charlie Ravioli's good friend, rants about the new oversized signs hanging above certain streets. A friend had noted to Gothamist months ago that the signs were awful, perhaps a further sign that New York was now Disneyland. We pooh-poohed it, thinking that the signs would be helpful when you're in a drunken haze; plus, we were on a "Isn't 311 super?" soliloquy, feeling positive about civic advances. Well, friend, after reading Gopnik's piece, you could be right. See, Gopnik hates the signs. He really, really, really, really, hates them:
The new signs put you immediately in mind of those nightmarish car trips in Los Angeles, where you begin somewhere and, forty-five minutes later, you are somewhere else, and all the while you have been looking for a big sign that reads “Pico.” Worse than merely unfamiliar, though, the signs are infuriating—first, because they are there for the convenience of cars, and thus violate the first Law of Civilization, which states that nothing must ever be done for the convenience of cars (the mark of a city worth living in is that there are never enough places to park); and, second, because they eclipse, as décor, the jaunty, jazz-era syncopation of the classic New York street-corner sign pair, each sign gesturing toward its own street, but with the two set at slightly different levels, so that they have a happy, semaphoric panache.And he ends the piece with "If you don’t know where you are, you don’t deserve to be here." So there! And Gothamist is actually fond of giving directions to people who ask for them, even if they are yelling from a car.
The Department of Transportation says there are about 3000 signs all over the five boroughs; here's the list. You can also buy customized signs from the DoT. Forgotten NY on street signs of yore.
Photo by Paul Downey
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Adam Gopnik. Dead right on all counts.
I knew there was something really, really creepy about the signs. Thanks for hitting the nail on the head.
Jen, re: 311... even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Oh, yeah, I get it. When I first saw the signs, I thought "Oh that's good...no one will be asking 'Where is Columbus Avenue', and I also thought, my, these are just like signs I've seen in other towns." Well guess what, this isn't just some other town! Take down those signs. I'll be happy to give directions to anyone who asks, (and drunks shouldn't be driving anyway.)Gopnik is right...it's just like, "If you have to ask, you can't afford it." If you have to ask, you shouldn't be here.
(p.s. 311 rocks!)
This has to be the dumbest thing I've read this month thus far.
Who the F cares if the signs are "LAish?" as a life long NYer, LA hater, and (oh my god!) guy who rather drive than take a subway when I need to get around town, the signs are a welcome safety measure. Generally I always know where I'm going, but if for some reason you don't, and you have to look around like an asshole for small little signs by the side of the road that are more often than not missing or obscured, chances are you're not able to watch the road like you should and might end up running someone over - because as we all know pedistrians (myself included, I still walk plenty) never seem to watch where they're walking.
Of all the fucked up things the government wastes money that he could write about, he picked this?
A couple of avenues are losing their names in Harlem because of the big signs. Above 110th St. Central Park West becomes Frederick Douglass Blvd, and the continuation of 7th Ave above Central Park is Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. The new, big signs along 116th St. revert the street names back to their original 8th Ave and 7th Ave, respectively. Inconsistently, the big sign for Malcolm X Blvd stayed Malcolm X Blvd and didn't revert to either 6th Ave or Lenox Ave. More thoughts and photos on Starts and Fits.
Who cares; they're just street signs. I can think of a billion things I care more about. Next we're gonna hear about how Times Square ain't what it used to be. And how the music scene just isn't the same. Oh, oh, and how about the Lower East Side--you used to be able to shoot up heroin on your front stoop. Cool!
&^%$ing Joe, I'm a native also. I can deal with looking for little signs, and have done so all my life. You must love the Malls in the city also. Is that where you drive?
"New York is not a hard place to get around in. If you don’t know where you are, you don’t deserve to be here." Gopnik may be right that the signs are unaesthetic, but he crosses a line with his closing words. This is why middle America hates New Yorkers for being hipper-than-thou elitists.
For those who scoff at the saftey issue, look back at this Gothamist story:
http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2004/11/16/nun_gets_killed_by_truck_in_chelsea.php
As a city of pedestrians, wouldn't you welcome anything to help avoid the numerous deaths that result of automobile/pedestrian collisions each year?
But but but... we are hipper-than-thou elitists! Why else do we pay the rents we pay?
I think AG's bigger point is that the city is spending money on signs that are really for the benefit of people not of or from the city. I guess I love tourist $$$ as much as the next taxpayer, but the needs of the people who live here should always come first. And that's not always the case. And these signs are just an overly obvious example of that.
Tim N: huh? City residents don't use streetsigns? City residents never buy food, clothing or other goods delivered on trucks by drivers who may not be city residents? (For that matter, there are no nearsighted New York natives?)
Every hipper-than-thou asshole who is offended by the idea of legible street signs: do feel free to leave. Try Boston; if being lost gets you indy cred, you'll be just unbelieveably sexy there.
i think the signs are a good idea. maybe that's because i grew up around the blvd of death and welcome anything that will help mindless, crazy drivers get to their destinations without the risk of dragging me under their cars. what really peeves me though are out-of-towners who move to ny for a year or less and think they're full-blooded nyers, dishing out advice about living in the city. but then again, that's for another thread...
Your webmaster helped the research guy assisting Gopnik with the article, but methinks Gopnick's evincing a little NYC snobbishness with this piece. Till now, common practice has been to sign streets with a catercornered pair, and if the sign was behind a tree or you couldn't see it, too bad. All this does is make it easier to identify the street whether you're a motorist, bicyclist or pedestrian. So, I have no probs with them...
www.forgotten-ny.com
I'm not an expert on the Boulevard of Death or other difficult intersections, but I think those are instances of needing other ways to stop speeding and alerting drivers to pedestrians on the road (as well as pedestrians being more aware).
I think the signs are wonderful. They've come in handy many times - and I don't see the point of bitching and moaning about this type of safety and convenience.
Although I agree that the fewer cars in NYC, the better, isn't it possible that the signs will make the cars we do have to put up with a little less dangerous and more bearable? I'm with Ken - if the prominent, easy-to-read signs mean drivers can panic a little less at intersections, and maybe pay a little more attention to things like traffic lights and pedestrians and crosswalks, they're a good thing. +
metromade: go run over a few more kids in wheelchairs...
Uncharacteristically, Gopnik gets it wrong. New York's singularity is worth preserving, but does that mean we have to baffle everyone? I say bring on the signs! L.A. may deserve scorn for a host of urban ills, but readable street signs isn't one of them. Sprawsville USA may be full of cars, NRA members and big green signs, but is there a correllation? Amsterdam, London and Rome all have large wayfinding signs and they've all found ways to limit cars AND right-wing gun owners. Does finding your way around a place make it feel less distinctive? Probably a bit. But that doesn't mean New York should ditch it's color-coded subway map just because Tokyo and Chicago use the same basic scheme. Sorry guys. The fact that New York is copying good ideas from other places is a mark of progress not some sellout to suburbanites.
Gag me with a spoon. Excuse me while I VOMIT. What are these whiners so scared of? STEAL the signs if they're such goddamn tough-ass New Yorkers. (Oooooooh The BIG SCARY OLDSCHOOL NEW YORKERS are gonna get us....) I love NYC, but it ain't the only city in the world, people.
^&% Joe, I would try to accommodate your request, but being a native, I've never learned to drive.