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Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has only two words for the Department of Transportation's rejection of his latest proposed pro-Brooklyn sign: Oy vey!
The DOT - which once allowed Markowitz to install road signs with such slogans as, "Welcome to Brooklyn: How Sweet it is!" and "Believe the Hype!" - has nixed his request for a sign reading "Leaving Brooklyn: Oy Vey!" at the Manhattan-bound lanes of the Williamsburg Bridge.
While Yiddish experts said the term "oy vey" simply means "oh, woe" and has no offensive denotations, the DOT ruled them out.
"The ["Oy Vey"] sign didn't add any information, so we respectfully rejected it," said DOT spokesman Tom Cocola, adding that Markowitz's other colorful signs were part of a pilot program that has pretty much played out.
But a source in Markowitz's office complained that the DOT has lost the sense of humor it displayed in 2002, when it allowed the Beep to install the original quirky, privately funded "Welcome to Brooklyn" signs.
Last year, Markowitz wanted a sign reading, "Leaving Brooklyn: Fuhgeddaboudit" on a Staten Island-bound ramp of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, but the DOT rejected it.
Markowitz eventually installed the sign on land controlled by the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The "Fuhgeddaboudit" sign angered some motorists, who saw it as an anti-Italian stereotype.
Then one such driver asked the Jewish borough president how he would feel if there were a sign reading, "Leaving Brooklyn: Oy Vey!"
Markowitz said he told the man, "How would I feel? That's the best idea I ever heard!"
So, shortly after Thanksgiving, Markowitz asked permission to place the "Oy Vey" sign in predominantly Jewish Williamsburg.
Two months later, the DOT rendered its verdict: Fuhgeddaboud the "Oy Vey!" sign.
The DOT - which once allowed Markowitz to install road signs with such slogans as, "Welcome to Brooklyn: How Sweet it is!" and "Believe the Hype!" - has nixed his request for a sign reading "Leaving Brooklyn: Oy Vey!" at the Manhattan-bound lanes of the Williamsburg Bridge.
While Yiddish experts said the term "oy vey" simply means "oh, woe" and has no offensive denotations, the DOT ruled them out.
"The ["Oy Vey"] sign didn't add any information, so we respectfully rejected it," said DOT spokesman Tom Cocola, adding that Markowitz's other colorful signs were part of a pilot program that has pretty much played out.
But a source in Markowitz's office complained that the DOT has lost the sense of humor it displayed in 2002, when it allowed the Beep to install the original quirky, privately funded "Welcome to Brooklyn" signs.
Last year, Markowitz wanted a sign reading, "Leaving Brooklyn: Fuhgeddaboudit" on a Staten Island-bound ramp of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, but the DOT rejected it.
Markowitz eventually installed the sign on land controlled by the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The "Fuhgeddaboudit" sign angered some motorists, who saw it as an anti-Italian stereotype.
Then one such driver asked the Jewish borough president how he would feel if there were a sign reading, "Leaving Brooklyn: Oy Vey!"
Markowitz said he told the man, "How would I feel? That's the best idea I ever heard!"
So, shortly after Thanksgiving, Markowitz asked permission to place the "Oy Vey" sign in predominantly Jewish Williamsburg.
Two months later, the DOT rendered its verdict: Fuhgeddaboud the "Oy Vey!" sign.
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