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Have You Seen Orange and Blue Tokens In The Pavement?
By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 3, 2010
Modified Nov 3, 2010
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 3, 2010
Modified Nov 3, 2010
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As you've wandered around the city on foot, trying to avoid the gum and the poop, have you noticed any blue and orange tokens paved into the ground? A tipster pointed them out to us, and wondered what they might be. They wrote: "I've seen them all over the city, and they seem to be permanent and not related to construction. This photo was taken on 65 and bway on the NE corner. The tokens have a number in the center and then a larger number on the surrounding ring, which looks to be an ID number." Could they be clues to some grand Freemasons-like conspiracy?
Those hoping that they are a fairy tale permanent marking, like Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumbs, will have to be satisfied with this straightforward explanation: According to the DOT, they're markers used by contractors to show where work has been done, and whose tags identify the contractor's name and the date the work was completed. Per city code, the color of the markers are very specific, so one can tell who has been doing work in their area:
(A) Verizon -Cherry red marker.
(B) Empire City Subway-Chrome yellow marker.
(C) Consolidated Edison Co.- Light blue marker
(D) Keyspan -White marker.
(E) Plumbers (water or sewer) -Green marker.
(F) Signals and Street Lights-Orange marker.
(G) Long Island Power Authority -Yellow marker.
(H) Metropolitan Transit Authority- Purple marker.
(I) Buckeye Pipe Line-Chrome yellow marker.
(J) Fire Department- Purple marker.
(M) Cable T.V.-Regal blue marker.
So the marker in the picture above means work was being done on street lamps or signals in that area. In our hearts though, we will always believe these tokens are actually coins from Donkey Kong 64 come to life.
Tagged
blue tokens
dot
mysteries
mystery
orange tokens
pavement
sidewalks
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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