A new cultural stigma, of signs

Flushing, Queens has long been the home a variety of cultures.

There are over 100 restaurants in flushing, not to mention assortments of services that out ranks some of the best national companies in America; like the unmatched prices of a Chinese private delivery company available at the corner of New World Mall on Roosevelt Avenue; affordable high end fabrics from Indian stores on Main street; over 50 selections of herbs and spices not far from Kabul Kabob House also on Main street. About.com wrote "immigrants have brought the best of the world's cooking to our borough." It has always been my belief that the color of cultures has eloquently dabbed upon the portrait of Flushing NY. And what's the first visual acquaintance non other than the shapes, colors, sizes and of course the different languages of signs one see when awakening atop of Flushing's signature number 7 train station.



The council member, Peter Koo is a Chinese-American who grew up in Hong Kong proposes a new policy that would require all storefront signs to be at least 60% English. And business would face fined regularly if their signs are not changed. New York Times reports:
"Mr. Chuang, whose storefront awning features giant Chinese characters that dwarf the
Roman characters above it, agreed that all signs should have some English. But he said
a requirement of 60 percent would force him to spend up to $5,000 for a new sign that
95 percent of his customers might not understand."

Lost in translation?
Have you ever read a sign that said something like "Mei Yu Ying Restaurant?" What would be your reaction if i were to tell you the actual name of that restaurant in Chinese is "Red Apple House?" or that a restaurant sign that reads Box 5 Buffet, while the Chinese characters meant "4 dish and a choice of soup?" If a restaurant transliterated its name to Mei Yu Ying, it may comply with the law, but won't help ANYONE including non-Chinese speakers to understand what that means.



Interested in further reading? Check out: In Neighborhood That’s Diverse, a Push for Signs to Be Less So