On Wednesday, the NYC Department of Transportation Sign Shop released a small batch of one of the city’s most popular street signs: “Leaving Brooklyn – Fuhgeddaboudit.”
In introducing the sale of the authentic replicas, NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said, “Few words are more closely associated with our city and its most populous borough, so if you don’t act fast to purchase one of these signs, you can fuhgeddaboudit.”
Well, fuhgeddaboudit.
All 100 signs were sold out by Thursday. (The signs sold for $100 apiece.)
How sweet it is! Photo courtesy of Marty Markowitz
Markowitz: ‘How Sweet It Is!’’
The “Fuhgeddaboudit” signs were first installed in 2004 at some of the borough’s exits by then-Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, and they became an instant hit. DOT boasts that the saying itself was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2016.
It’s not the only idiosyncratic Brooklyn street sign installed by Markowitz. There are eight variations of entrance signs — “Welcome to Brooklyn: How Sweet It Is!” reads one — and two exit signs, including, “Leaving Brooklyn: Oy vey!” But the “Fuhgeddaboudit” sign is by far the most popular, as Markowitz told the Brooklyn Eagle in 2016.
“I decided that the Brooklyn we all knew, as far as I’m concerned, was a separate city,” Markowitz said. “I wanted to let everyone know, coming into Brooklyn or leaving that they were in a special place, or leaving a special place.”
Back in the day: Former Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz in 2004 unveiled the now-iconic sign on the steps of Borough Hall. Photo courtesy of Marty Markowitz
Other memorable sign sales
It seems that a lot of people want a piece of their favorite NYC street.
Another popular sign drop was the “Love Lane” sign, replicating the one installed on Love Lane in Brooklyn Heights. One hundred of the signs were released in February in honor of Valentine’s Day. Available in “Historic District Brown” and “Sweetheart Pink,” they quickly sold out.
Yet another hit was the “Christopher ‘Notorious B.I.G.’ Wallace Way” sign, released in September 2024. The street bearing this name (actually co-name) is in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn at the corner of St. James Place between Fulton Street and Gates Avenue, where the rapper grew up. This drop coincided with the 30th anniversary of Biggie’s “Ready to Die” studio album.
DOT’s “Love Lane” sign, replicating the one installed on Love Lane in Brooklyn Heights, sold out quickly on Valentine’s Day. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle
The commemorative sign drops started last year, when DOT kicked off Pride Month with a limited batch (50) of “Stonewall Pl/Christopher St” signs. Following that kickoff, the Sign Shop began releasing a new, limited-edition sign each month.
If you prefer mass transit, you may be interested in an authentic NYC subway station sign. In stock, for example, is a 2 1/2-foot “High Street/Brooklyn Bridge” (A and C trains) subway sign “custom built and crafted to the exacting specifications of the MTA’s graphic design specifications.”
Do you have a favorite street sign? DOT says people can send in suggestions about what sign they would like the Sign Shop to drop next.
The Sign Shop is in Maspeth, Queens, where a team of 32 DOT employees hand-make more than 70,000 street signs, highway signs, directional signs and parking signs every year.
When new signs are released, they are available to buy at nyc.gov/signsales.
SUNSET PARK — “As a resident of Marine Park, one of the great surprises I found biking around Industry City and visiting Japan Village was to discover Bush Terminal Park. I continue to be amazed at the serene hideaways that the city offers in some of the busiest places — and, still, with an iconic view.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ‘A miracle that no one was killed …’ That’s what neighbors are saying about the collapse of the Hotel St. George marquee. Shown in this photograph are workmen beginning the removal and repair of the historic, old neon sign at the corner, referencing a relic of Brooklyn Heights’ past: the St. George Hotel.
ATLANTIC AVENUE — Exhausted shopper with cluster of bags and goods from mall at Boerum Place stops to look at huge construction site across the street. “Is that REALLY going to be a jail??” Her male companion is reassuring, “Nothing like Rikers … this is 21st Century.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Overheard in line at one of most popular pastry outlets on Montague Street: “Hope I can get them into a camp …” A mother with two pre-schoolers in tow was showing a friend the Dodge Y flyer for Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 18.
