Signs Misspelled for 55 Years on Verrezzano Bridge Changed

Brooklyn – Signs proclaiming the location of the Verrezzano Bridge have stood on the span connecting Brooklyn and Staten Island for 55 years, carrying a misspelling no one even realized.

On Wednesday, the MTA began correcting the mistake, replacing signs at the bridge by adding a “z” and changing it from “Verrazano” to “Verrazzano.”

The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was named at its 1964 opening for 16th century Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano. But the name was mistakenly spelled with one “z.” it was the persistence of Robert Nash, an Italian-American student at Brooklyn College, who lobbied for years to correct the bridge’s spelling.

Legislation was finally approved in 2018. To minimize costs, the MTA is replacing the signs as they fade, rather than replacing them all at once.