Whoring Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

Queens Plaza may not be suitable for strip clubs but it’s perfect for oversize advertisements masquerading as “iconic” signage:

Despite some push back from Community Board 2 at its last monthly meeting, the airline JetBlue said it is confident the city will pass a zoning amendment to allow it to install a 40-foot sign at its new headquarters in Long Island City’s Queens Plaza.

“JetBlue is proud to be New York’s hometown airline,” said Bryan Baldwin, spokesman for JetBlue, in an e-mail. “We would like to be part of the iconic skyline of this great city.”

Baldwin said the airline’s new sign will be a back-lit version of its company logo. It will be on the top of its new headquarters at the Brewster Building, at 27-01 Queens Plaza N., where it plans to move almost 1,000 employees later this year.

“It is not a billboard-type sign and is very in keeping with Long Island City’s industrial history and other existing signs in the neighborhood, including the iconic Silvercup and PepsiCola signs,” he said.

Let’s be clear: The Silvercup and PepsiCola signs are vestigial reminders of the area’s industrial past. That they’re still there is a testament to both our culture’s gooshy sentimentalism in general and Long Island City boosters’ desire not to look like Jersey City. The JetBlue sign is strictly an advertisement. And with the people in charge bending over backwards to entice the company to stay in New York, they were obviously able to offer them something Orlando couldn’t: A big billboard that hundreds of thousands of people could see every day. Which is fine — whatever — but spare us the “iconic” approach because, frankly, the sign is ugly and the lack of a space between “Jet” and “Blue” is annoying.

Location Scout: Queens Plaza.