Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
"Don't Honk" Signs, RIP
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jan 29, 2013
Modified Jan 29, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jan 29, 2013
Modified Jan 29, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Oh, "Don't Honk" signs, we hardly knew ye. After first moving to the city of New York at the behest of then-Mayor Ed Koch, the signs are packing up their bags and returning to whence they came. They weren't even 30 years old.
We've known that nobody actually listens to "Don't Honk" signs for some time, and apparently the DOT has now decided to do something about it. According to the Times the Department has been slowly removing all of the essentially useless signage from the city (the better to declutter the streets), with the last expected to come down by the end of the year. But this is New York, so not everyone is happy about this development.
Councilwoman Gale Brewer, for instance, tells the Times she gets a steady stream of requests for the signs on the Upper West Side (raise your hand if you are surprised) and has written the DOT commissioner about her distaste for the change. "The notion of taking down information when information is so hard to get in New York City is pretty bad.," she said.
But the DOT isn't particularly interested, it seems. Spokesman Seth Solomonow tells the paper of record that the agency is "not aware of any evidence that the signs have had any impact at locations where they’ve been installed." The other big problem with the signs? Unnecessary honking in the city is actually just flat out not kosher, but because of the signs some people think it is only verboten in those particular locations. This deals with that problem.
Soon you won't have to suffer from the mental disconnect of standing next to a "Don't Honk" sign as car after car honks their way down the road! Or are we the only ones who spend our weekends doing that?
Tagged
department of transportation
don't honk
dot
honk
honking
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Several arrested in wake of ICE protest where Manhattan man was shot in the neck
Oscar Belgal was in his car with his 5-year-old when ICE agents fired seven shots into the vehicle.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Oct 9, 2026 at 7:24 a.m. ET
Bronx homeowners facing foreclosure are in the market for assistance
Some are looking for information and legal guidance, but also help clearing worrisome balances.
By
Willow Higgins
News
Bronx homeowners facing foreclosure are in the market for assistance
Some are looking for information and legal guidance, but also help clearing worrisome balances.
By
Willow Higgins
Cornell students warned of fraternity 'rape culture' years before Jane Doe case
By
Walter Wuthmann
ICE agent fires 7 rounds, shoots man in neck in NYC's Marble Hill, NYPD says
By
Giulia Heyward
and
Arya Sundaram
Lazy drivers in Prospect Heights lose chance for 1 less day of alternate-side parking
By
Liam Quigley
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .