Part 4: Staten Island I’m surprised I never thought of this until now, after about fifteen years of doing Forgotten New York. I’ve seen these historic plaques mounted on poles…

PART 3: MANHATTAN PART 1: BRONX and BROOKLYN PART 2: QUEENS PART 4: STATEN ISLAND I’m surprised I never thought of this until now, after about fifteen years of doing…

Though the Department of Transportation has now succeeded in eliminating every “olive” stoplight stanchion on the streets of NYC — they used to guard traffic, a pair to each intersection…

PART 2: QUEENS PART 1: BRONX and BROOKLYN PART 3: MANHATTAN PART 4: STATEN ISLAND   I’m surprised I never thought of this until now, after about fifteen years of…

PART 1: BROOKLYN and the BRONX PART 2: QUEENS PART 3: MANHATTAN PART 4: STATEN ISLAND     I’m surprised I never thought of this until now, after about fifteen…

A plastic-letter classic. Wish I knew the manufacturer of these. 2/26/13

Walk past most police precincts in New York City, and you will notice that almost inevitably the entrances are lit by a pair of lamps mounted on each side of…

Queens recently lost another of its classic white and blue street signs, that had been a staple between 1964 and about 1985, only to be replaced by federally mandated green…

It’s no secret that both Brooklyn’s and Queens’ street numbering and naming systems are a bit of a mess, confusing out- of-towners and residents alike. Brooklyn has several sets of…

The massive Kentile Floors neon sign, built to attract business from the passing IND trains on the viaduct, looms over 9th Street near the Gowanus Canal. It is one of a…

Hopefully, Sol Moscot [formerly 118 Orchard, at Delancey, shown here] will take this iconic sign with them when they move directly across Delancey Street, to 108 Orchard. Founded on Rivington…

While the recently deceased [February 2013] mayor Ed Koch has had the Queensboro Bridge subnamed for him during his lifetime, and there was a push to name the 77th Street…