Alas, Poor Times Square

I saw this in a dead tree copy of National Review (my parents have paid for all of us to have subscriptions for years, thanks, Dad!), but I had to go to the internet of get a copy I could quote:

Feckless feds slap Times Square’s billboards

Here’s a new low in Washington cluelessness: The feds say Times Square’s iconic billboards must come down or New York will lose highway money.

Supposedly, a 2012 law put the crossroads of the world under the restrictions of the 1965 Highway Beautification Act — which limits signs to 1,200 square feet. Now Washington is pushing the city Department of Transportation to comply.

Earth to Uncle Sam: Don’t be a jerk.

Rules are rules, buddy!

Google to launch Time Square's largest interactive billboard ever

There is only one Times Square, New York, the place where the world rings in the new year, and now Google is set to take over the largest electronic billboard ever installed on the iconic, neon-laced strip.

The billboard, which covers an entire city block, is powered by a Mitsubishi Electric large-scale display (the Diamond Vision AVL-ODT10) that delivers a pixel density of 2,368 x 10,048, exceeding 4K display resolution by 15 million pixels.

Located at 1535 Broadway, between 45th and 46th streets, about a mile and a half from Google's New York headquarters, the record-setting billboard measures 77.69 feet by 329.65 feet.

Reportedly, the New York City is in talks with the feds to get an exemption, or to get Times Square taken off the Scenic Highway rolls so they can keep their highway funds.

I disapprove of this move. Elections have consequences, and this was one. Just because it discomfits some in a blue state is no reason they should get an exemption. Go ahead and commit civil disobedience, ignore the mandate and suffer the loss of highway funds (about $90 million per year). Certainly the money you make from Times Square should more than make up for it, right?