What to Know
- The uneven placement of holiday wreaths on the Holland Tunnel sign has commuters annoyed
- Commuter Cory Windelspecht has started a petition asking Port Authority to move a wreath that's shaped like an "A" from the "N" to the "A"
- Budweiser supported the cause, saying it would only change the wreaths on its own brewery when the Holland Tunnel ones are changed
Commuters distressed by the placement of a holiday wreath on the Holland Tunnel sign have gained an unlikely ally in their quest to have the decoration moved to another spot.
Budweiser on Wednesday tweeted its support for Cory Windelspecht, a frequent Manhattan-to-New Jersey commuter who started a Change.org petition to move a Christmas tree wreath that’s shaped like an “A” from the “N” on the Holland Tunnel sign to the “A.”
The wreath’s placement on a dissimilar letter “triggers anyone with the slightest hint of OCD every time they enter the city,” Windelspecht’s petition maintains, adding that it’s “unsightly and ruins the holiday festivities for people to enjoy on such a great piece of architecture.”
“We stand with @WhosCory,” Budweiser tweeted. “This is what our Newark Brewery will look like until they #MoveThatTree. #TunnelNotTonnel.”
A photo the beer company posted shows a Christmas-tree wreath shaped like an "A" brazenly placed over a letter "e" on a sign at its Newark brewery.
Windelspecht told NJ.com he had obsessive compulsive disorder when he was a child and had mostly overcome it until seeing the Holland Tunnel sign.
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And he isn’t alone in his dismay over the sign. As of Thursday morning, his petition had garnered nearly 2,000 signatures and he appeared with it at the Port Authority board meeting Thursday.
"Just move it. It's not right, it hurts my brain," Windelspecht begged the board.
"It just makes me anxious, makes me angry when I see it," he said. "I want to pull it off and place it on the A myself."
The Port Authority initially declined to weigh in on the controversy surrounding the wreaths, but later said it would conduct a survey asking people to choose the wreath placement they felt was most optimal.
"I think the options out there are reasonable, and we're looking forward to some winner so to speak," said Port Authority chairman Kevin O'Toole.
Windelspecht said he likes option two but is happy with any change.
Regarding Budweiser’s show of support, Windelspecht on Twitter said he and other petitioners “really appreciate[d] [the company’s] support.”
“Keep voting to MOVE THE TREE FROM THE N TO COVER THE LETTER A!!” he added.
Not everyone thinks change is worthy, but the Port Authority said it's likely based on the feedback they've gotten so far.
"I would say that change is in the air in terms of current votes that have come in," said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton.
Windelspecht agreed, saying, "I'm very confident we're going to see some change there."
