How NYC’s iconic street signs are made: An inside look at the DOT facility

An inside look at how NYC street signs are made

FOX 5 NY is getting an exclusive look into where and how the NYC Department of Transportation creates signs that are on street corners or hanging above a major highway throughout the city. FOX 5 NY’s Richard Giacovas has the story.

QUEENS - If you're brave enough to navigate the streets of the five boroughs these days, you've likely passed a sign directing you "one way." Maybe another sign signaling a dead end. Well, if you're lucky enough to park, you've probably read through all the verbiage on those signs too.

But what you may not have done is wonder… where do these signs come from? How are they made, and how do they get here?

FOX 5 NY got an exclusive look inside a giant warehouse in Maspeth, Queens where there are thousands of sheets of aluminum ready to be transformed into the next DOT sign.

"Every sign in the city starts with just sheets of aluminum. We cut them down to size, put the holes in it and it rounds the corners off," an employee said.

Hundreds of signs get cut at the NYC DOT sign shop every day. Signs get stamped every day before they are bolted to a post along a NYC street hung above a major thoroughfare in one of the five boroughs.

"When we go to any city, no other city in America is so organized or is so clear at giving direction," NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said.

Weeks before the New York City Marathon, those signs are ready to go. And following the newly passed Sammy’s Law, thousands of 20 mph signs are currently in production to reduce speed limits at more than 250 locations by the end of next year. The DOT is already ahead of schedule.

"Any new sign, any new law that comes down to play, our bosses will let us know there's a large quantity, get it ready for it. So we're prepared," an employee said.

Another employee said signs are a staple.

"They're something that we need for every day. I mean, without these, you go the wrong direction, you know, cause an accident, go somewhere you're not supposed to," another employee said.

For Comic Con, a limited batch of "Stan Lee Way" signs are ready to be scooped by collectors. There are only a hundred of these made available for purchase. There will be 50 for each design. At $75 each, the sign makers say they sell out immediately.

Last month, the NOTORIOUS B.I.G. Wallace Way Street Sign was out of stock in minutes.

"It's a3m high intensity prismatic material. So it's very reflective, but it's all the same material, all the same metals, everything that you see out there, that's what we're making with these," another employee said.

Looking ahead, DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez hopes for a special sports drop by next week.

"I hope to see a new sign be built very, very soon for our baseball Subway Series that I hope will be played between the Yankees and Mets," Rodriguez said.