About 33 years ago, the Welcome To Brooklyn sign that adorned the Verrazano Bridge ramp—the same sign that was made famous in the opening credits of Welcome Back Kotter—was stolen. According to the Daily News, however, it's coming back home—a replica of the original will be installed in the lobby of Brooklyn Borough Hall today.
Gabe Kaplan, who played Mr. Kotter, told the paper, "This is great for Brooklyn and its residents. Brooklyn is a unique place, and that became a really iconic sign." And producer Alan Sacks says the sign even inspired the title of the sitcom, saying, "I passed it almost every day on the Belt Parkway coming back from work in Manhattan. It meant so much that I put it into the main title."
When the show hit the small screen, Borough President at the time, Sebastian Leone, said a councilman in Philadelphia called and "complained they were the fourth largest city" (maybe he stole the sign!). Anyway, welcome back, sign.
