The New York City Department of Transportation ended Black History Month with a huge blunder.
The municipal agency misspelled the name of the first African-American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era, Jackie Robinson, on one of its signs for the 5-mile thoroughfare that runs from Jamaica Avenue in Brooklyn through to the Grand Central Parkway in Kew Gardens.
The road sign read “Jakie Robinson Parkway,” leaving the “c” out of the Baseball Hall of Famer’s tribute. On Sunday, Feb. 26, people started to notice the error. The botched sign features a picture of Robinson in a classic batter’s pose above the text and is located at Myrtle Avenue and Forest Park Drive, according to the NY Post.
Queens Councilman Robert Holden blasted the DOT for misspelling the Brooklyn Dodgers name.
“Not only can’t the central planners at NYC DOT move traffic smoothly and safely, but they can’t even spell. The DOT needs a major overhaul. They’re a mess,” he tweeted.
The politician also said to the press “This spelling mistake is absurd. You don’t have a few eyes looking at these signs? DOT is a mess.”
Adding, “This is a slap in the face. Jackie Robinson means a lot to me. I was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan!”
Many others were outraged.
“It does not make sense that a sign on the Jackie Robinson Parkway in Queens spells his first name Jakie,” another tweeted.
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