Limited Batch of Union Square Signs

Image Courtesy of NYC DOT

Allotment Will Be Split Between Union Square East and Union Square West Signs

Release Recognizes Union Square’s Historical Significance in Labor Movement

A limited number of authentic Union Square street signs is on sale to honor Union Square’s historical significance to the labor movement. The release is part of the agency’s monthly ‘sign drops,’ pulled from the wide range of handmade signs from the NYC DOT Sign Shop, which produces over 70,000 signs each year. 

A total of 50 signs will be available for $100 each: 25 Union Square East and 25 Union Square West signs, limited to one total per customer. Signs will be sold through the CityStore, the official store of the City of New York, with proceeds supporting the city’s general fund. Previous sign drops have sold out quickly.

In the late 1800s, Union Square became a key location for political activism in New York City, including playing host to numerous famed rallies and protests central to the labor movement. Political activist Emma Goldman gave her famous “take-the-bread” speech to garment workers in Union Square in 1883, and it was the site of Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire protests in 1911.

Union Square was the site of the nation’s first Labor Day Parade on September 5, 1882. Viewing stands in the park allowed parade-goers to witness 10,000 marchers as they went up Broadway from City Hall to Union Square, demanding better working conditions and an eight-hour workday. In late July, the famous Union Square Greenmarket, which catalyzed the expansion of greenmarkets across the city, celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Monthly sign drops from NYC DOT feature signs for iconic New York City streets, commemorations of famous New Yorkers, celebrations of special occasions, and other custom releases. NYC DOT began its monthly drops in June 2024, with the release of Christopher Street/Stonewall Place street signs to commemorate Pride Month.

Other recent sign drops include:

• Don’t Block the Box
• Champions Way
• Welcome to the Bronx: “The Bronx Lead”
• Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg Way
• Welcome to Manhattan: “Hello, gorgeous!”
• St. Mark’s Place
• 5th Avenue
• Bleecker Street
• Mulberry Street
• Hip Hop Boulevard to celebrate the genre’s musical and cultural legacy
• Welcome to Queens: The World’s Borough
• Gay Street in recognition of Pride Month
• Wall Street
• Leaving Brooklyn: Fuhgeddaboudit
• East 161st Street and Shea Road in honor of baseball’s opening day
• Love Lane to recognize Valentine’s Day
• Broadway in celebration of Broadway Week
• Cornelia Street to honor the street’s prominence among pop music fans

About the NYC DOT Sign Shop

The New York City DOT Sign Shop is in Maspeth, Queens and manufactures over 70,000 signs each year. A team of 32 Sign Shop employees hand-make street signs, highway signs, directional signs, parking signs, and more. There are about one million NYC DOT signs in use across the 6,000 miles of streets in New York City.

The monthly drops are the latest iteration of sales that have historically been available from the Sign Shop.

About CityStore

Located at the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building at 1 Centre Street in lower Manhattan, for nearly three decades CityStore has been the official retail store of the City of New York.

The first New York City CityStore—originally known as CityBooks—opened in December 1981 at 61 Chambers Street and was a small store that primarily sold copies of the Green Book and a few select souvenirs. In 1996, renovations to the building caused the store to relocate to the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building, where the physical store has resided since. Between 1997 and 1998, CityBooks was rebranded to CityStore in an effort to expand beyond book sales and grow the city’s goodwill with visitors and New Yorkers.

Visit CityStore in person at 1 Centre Street, shop online, and follow on Instagram and Facebook.