Sign of the Times

As many will recall, there used to be a gas station in Queens Plaza, one which has been shuttered for at least a couple of years at the time of this writing.

I’ve probably been walking past this sign for better than a year. Never actually took the time to notice it, let alone grab a shot or two. A casual glance caused me to register its message and delightful usage of the English language, and froze me in my tracks. You’ll notice a lot of signage in usage around Western Queens which betrays the fact that for the signmaker, English is their secondary tongue.

To start with, I really like the idea of an inconvenience station, even if it is spelled in a rather creative fashion. Not only is the idea of a centralized location wherein one may be professionally inconvenienced an extremely New York City sort of thing, it’s especially a “Queens thing.”

This might be a great, albeit “temperory,” addition to the new Queens Plaza.

Newtown Creek Alliance Historian Mitch Waxman lives in Astoria and blogs at Newtown Pentacle.