NYC DOT Re-Releases Limited Batch of Knickerbocker Avenue Street Signs

Press Releases

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 3, 2026
Contact: (212) 839-4850, [email protected]

NYC DOT Re-Releases Limited Batch of Knickerbocker Avenue Street Signs

Knickerbocker Avenue Street signs finally return for another exciting run

Party like it's 1999 with this extra-special sign drop for June

'Knickerbocker' Comes from Dutch-Era Clothing and Became a Nickname for New Yorkers

NEW YORK - New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Mike Flynn today announced that a limited batch of Knickerbocker Avenue signs will go on sale online at 11:00 a.m. today. The release is part of NYC DOT's monthly 'sign drops,' featuring authentic, hand-made signs from the agency's Sign Shop, which produces more than 70,000 signs each year.

A total of 222 signs will be available for $100 each, limited to one 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.

"222 New Yorkers will have the opportunity to pick up their very own Knickerbocker Avenue signage, which NYC DOT is rolling out today," said Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani. "Supplies are limited, so don't miss your chance to get the jump on a piece of NYC history."

"We've been spurred to release another batch of Knickerbocker Avenue street signs this June," said NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn. "Show your pride for New York with this unique, authentic piece of the city."

"We know a good rebound when we see one," said DCAS Commissioner Yume Kitasei. "Knickerbocker Avenue is an important part of New York City's historical and cultural identity, and this spur-of-the-moment sign drop gives New Yorkers another shot to own a piece of that history."

The term knickerbocker comes from the knee-length trousers commonly worn by Dutch colonists in New Amsterdam. It later became a nickname for New Yorkers and was popularized by Washington Irving in his 1809 book A History of New York, written under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker.

Knickerbocker Avenue runs through Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood, which was inhabited by early Dutch immigrants. The neighborhood's original Dutch name was Boswijck, meaning "town in the woods."

Monthly sign drops from NYC DOT feature signs for iconic New York City streets, commemorations of notable New Yorkers, celebrations of special occasions, and other custom releases.

Other recent sign drops include:

• Welcome to the Bronx: "The Bronx Leads"
• 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.