The Second Avenue Subway has been a dream for New Yorkers since it was first proposed in 1929. It would run from 125th Street south to the financial district and cost $86 million. Then came the Great Depression. Then World War II. Then existing subways needed repairs. In the early ’70s, short sections of the Second Avenue tunnel were burrowed at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge, between 99th Street and 105th and between 110th and 120th, before the city’s looming bankruptcy in 1975 halted all digging.

The new subway’s most recent incarnation blasted off in 2007, with excavation starting at 95^th Street and gradually inching south (final cost estimates currently not available). Construction is now active in my neighborhood, between 66^th and 72^nd Streets. While the MTA periodically hosts subterranean tours of this extraordinary project to build community support, small business owners along the avenue’s east side have suffered, with many shops closing down as a result (below).

From a marketing perspective, the MTA could use some creative input. It’s not as though they haven’t tried—there’s plenty of signage and graphics (above), but lacking enough impact for damage control. In fact it was only yesterday, when I noticed a new installation of crisp, clean fencing, that I realized the graphics were a promotion to "Shop Second Avenue." If you squint you'll get it (below).

Up close, the message becomes more apparent (below).

This is how the graphics look after weathering a year or so of city grime (below).

I found the home-made signs at the recently closed Café Greco, a neighborhood go-to for several decades (below), a compelling rebuff of the costly designs installed by the MTA.

 Photos: Peggy Roalf