New York City Boots Spelling Of Legend’s Name On Parkway

In 1997, as Major League Baseball celebrated the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, the State of New York joined in by renaming the Interboro Parkway that connected Queens and Brooklyn, after Hall of Fame legend. Last week, the New York City Department of Transportation updated their 25 year-old signs. However, something was wrong.

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In the days or spell-check and auto-correct one would think that spelling errors on highway signs, especially the ones named after high profile individuals, would be a thing of the past. Not so fast. Motorists this weekend traveling on Myrtle Avenue in Queens, were treated to a unique spelling of the civil rights hero's name.

The "Jakie Robinson Parkway" mistake infuriated a few local politicians. According to nypost.com, New York City Councilman Robert Holden commented, “This spelling mistake is absurd. You don’t have a few eyes looking at these signs? DOT is a mess. This is a slap in the face. Jackie Robinson means a lot to me.” Plenty of New Yorkers were upset by the error.

Contacted on Sunday, the NYC Department of Transportation said that the signs would be corrected by Monday. You would think that someone being paid to create a sign that provides directional instructions would take the time to get it right. Spelling errors are easy to make. I make them all of the time. However, when your job involves helping people travel from one place to another, there is a responsibility. Jackie Robinson took his responsibilities seriously and that's how legends get roads named after them. Bad job by the NYC DOT.