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'CARS RUIN CITIES': Electronic Road Signs In Park Slope Hacked With Anti-Driver Messages
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 1, 2019
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Amy Pearl / Gothamist
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 1, 2019
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At least two road signs placed in Park Slope to warn drivers about a construction-related detour were hacked yesterday to convey a very different message to drivers. Namely, that they are ruining New York City and ought to be banned altogether.
Spotted on Union Street by local resident (and WNYC videographer) Amy Pearl, the Variable-Message Signs (VMS) previously notified drivers about a detour on Eastern Parkway. But yesterday they were mysteriously changed to say "CARS RUIN CITIES" and "BAN CARS STOP DRIVING." It's unclear how many drivers followed the signs' orders and abandoned their vehicles in the street as a result of the prank.
The DOT says these VMS boards "do not belong to them." A departmental spokesperson did not respond when asked to whom the signs belong.
The hacking comes days after a community meeting over bike lanes in Park Slope spiraled violently out of control, highlighting a rift in the neighborhood between safe streets advocates and some residents resisting changes to car-centric street design. (There is currently no indication the hacked VMS are in direct response to the meeting.)
In 2017, when a road sign in Queens was hacked with a cryptic message hailing the North Korea, we learned that the DOT's electronic road signs are allegedly "easy to hack, as they reportedly all come with the same default password."
Indeed, this has been going on in NYC (and elsewhere) for years. The signs have previously told us that NEW YORK IS DYING, not to mention the haunting "SHIT BIRD ORL." Hackers, if you're listening, can we get a GOTHAMIST = ESSENTIAL READING (BEWARE THE COMMENTS)? Would also accept YOU WANNA CLOWN AROUND WITH ME? or DOT SEZ THIS SIGN UP FOR GRABS? WOULD BE COOL TO HAVE IN YOUR APARTMENT. REMEMBER WHEN HAVING A SPENCER GIFTS POLICE SIREN IN YOUR BEDROOM WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER? THIS WOULD BE NEXT LEVEL. COULD EVEN USE TO KEEP SCORE IN NERF BASKETBALL TOURNEYS?
Oh well, fun's over:
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motorists
hackers
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complete streets
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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