Newcomers to the city searching for Mercer Street over the weekend may have run into some trouble at the corner of West Houston Street, where a city sign pointed the way to "Merser Street."
Despite the popularity of the name Mercer (and of its bearers), and even though the street corner is in a heavily trafficked area — less than a block from such SoHo landmarks as the Mercer Hotel, MercBar, and this season's new hot watering hole, subMercer — the sloppily spelled street sign lingered for all to see for four balmy spring days before being taken down yesterday afternoon.
Where the blame lies for "Merser Street" is not clear — the culprit could be the sign manufacturer, the originating work order, or someone who sought to link the proud name of Mercer with MRSA, aka Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, aka the superbug. Department of Transportation workers replaced the sign at no cost to taxpayers.
The misspelling was first noted on the Web log of Nylon magazine. No other such slipups were reported among the city's other 249,999 street-name signs last night.
