Since the Corvington Longarm Type 24M — and other old forms such as the bishop crook and Type F lights — were reintroduced to NYC streets beginning in the 1980s, the Department of Transportation has granted them a great amount of flexibility, taking them where they never went before, such as producing twin versions of the Corvington and bishop crook lamps.
I am a purist, and recoil at such developments.
The most egregious example has been the DOT’s willingness to take Corvington, bishop crook and Type F tops and jam them onto the thick, guy-wired stoplights that have been part of the landscape since the 1950s. It is the worst example of a forced alliance since PT Barnum acquired a mummified monkey whose torso had had a fishtail sewn onto it, calling it the Feejee Mermaid. That was an insult to mermaids everywhere.
12/25/12
3 comments
Probably a case of “Local politician said, “Put up a light pronto, I don’t care what it looks like’.” So they took whatever they had in stock at that moment. But don’t knock it. Replacing the upright will come later, or replacing the arm will. Bastiat’s broken windows at work; more work for the DOT repair crews, a bigger budget for DOT when the economy gets rip-roaring again. ‘Twas ever thus, yea, verily, even so far back as unto the reign of William M. Tweed and Richard Croker do we find such busywork projects.
If the traffic light part was also painted black it would be somewhat acceptable. All they did was stick the new streetlight section on top of the traffic light. Another crew may come along someday and paint it.
This is really bizarre!