The MTA is refusing to fix a 75-year-old typo at the Broadway G train station because it claims a misspelled mosaic that reads “Brodaway” is a part of city lore — but the blooper is giving local grammarians clause for concern.
“It’s iconic,” said spokeswoman Deirdre Parker, adding that the authority has no plans to swap the two errant letters, despite promising to “look into” it back in 2009.
Some straphangers were horrified by the MTA’s brazen indifference for the sanctity of the English language.
“I don’t see how that’s iconic,” said Theo Thomas-Newkirk, of Bushwick. “You can’t just flip two letters? That’s just lazy.”
Others agreed, saying that the relatively minor fix shouldn’t be that big a deal — especially for an agency that just passed a $12.6 billion operating budget.
“It’s the wrong spelling, so they should fix it,” said Rich Velazquez, a Queens commuter. “It’s worth it. We pay for this.”
The misprint has graced the Queens-bound side of the station since it opened in 1937, said Parker — and the MTA wants to keep it that way.
“It’s going to be there forever,” Parker told the New York Times
But for many riders of the so-called “Ghost Train” who have grown accustomed to improbably long waits, leaking water, stalactites and a myriad other inconveniences that bedevil that line that runs through the heart of the borough, the agency decision to ignore the mistake came as no surprise. They say the MTA has more important i’s to dot and t’s to cross.
“There are bigger problems to fix besides that,” said Christine Madhere of Williamsburg.
Reach reporter Dan MacLeod at dmacleod@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4507. Follow his tweets at twitter.com/dsmacleod.
