The great Holland Tunnel wreath controversy has been resolved.
After complaints about the placement of holiday wreaths and a tree decoration over the tunnel, more than 21,000 people voted in a poll commissioned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the tunnel's operator.
The consensus? Move the tree from over the "N'' in "Holland" to over the "A," and remove a wreath hanging over the "U."
The push to move the decorations was sparked by a petition started by Cory Windelspecht. The former Hoboken resident said that the design was distracting, since the tree looked weird over the “N.” He says that he is very happy with the result of the poll.
“I’m going to just smile every time I drive through here knowing that we did something really cool and different,” Windelspecht says.
Port Authority crews will move the decorations late Monday night as a safety precaution.
"Now I know will get complaints, it's not symmetrical, I understand that,” says Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “But this is democracy at work here, 42 percent of the people voted for this option."
Port Authority officials say that they know that in the grand scheme of things, decorations aren’t very important. But they said that the fun debate is all about connecting with customers.
“It connects to what we’re trying to do more broadly, which is actually listen to…customers’ experience, customer response,” says Executive Director Rick Cotton. “This was an opportunity to take a very specific suggestion, which attracted a certain amount of humorous attention, and actually take it seriously.”
Cotton says that the Port Authority may hold a competition next year to allow the public to decide on decorations for the Holland Tunnel.
The Associated Press wire services contributed to this report.