Elv Avenue in Astoria.
23rd Street in Astoria used to be known as Ely Avenue. A relic of this old street name is seen at the 21st Street/Ely Avenue 7 train station in Long Island City.
The creators of this handsomely produced piece of signage attempted to memorialize 23rd Street’s former streetname, but unfortunately they misspelled that simple three-letter word. ELV AVENUE never existed, but this corner of 23rd Street and 33rd Road was once known as ELY AVENUE and DEY STREET.
This sign has been here for over a year. You’d think someone besides me would have noticed by now and given the artist who crafted this classy looking signage a tap on the shoulder.
It does not necessarily need fixing. No one will lose their bearings from this sign. Then again if it does not need fixing then maybe it does not need to be there at all.
This differs from my earlier sighting of 138th Avenue in Long Island City/Astoria. While unlikely based on the direction it was facing I think that bit of vandalism at least had some potential to mess with people’s minds. This ELV AVE 1903, in its failed cleverness, just annoys for the needless but enduring inaccuracy.
The Astoria Historical Society section contains an old photo of the address. There is also now a similar placque that reads “Dey Street”, the former name for 33rd Road.