The man behind a petition to change the holiday decorations at the Holland Tunnel spoke with officials at a Port Authority meeting Thursday.
Cory Windelspecht says that two Christmas wreaths and a decoration in the shape of a Christmas tree are a distraction. Windelspecht also says it's possible the configuration could trigger people with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
“It just makes me anxious. I get angry when I see it. I want to get up there and pull it off,” Windelspecht says.
More than 2,000 people signed an online petition urging the authority to move the tree from a spot covering the letter "N'' in "Holland" to over the letter "A."
Windelspecht read some comments posted on his petition at the meeting.
“Just move it. It’s not right. It hurts my brain. It’s bothered me for years,” Windelspecht read.
After the petition and the controversy went viral, the Port Authority responded with a poll asking the public what they think should be done.
The options include: Keeping the decorations as is, moving the Christmas tree over the “A,” moving the tree and taking away the second wreath over the “U,” or keeping it as is, but also add a second tree over the “A.”
“It’s a fun debate. There’s no right answer, right? There’s not one answer that everyone will be completely happy with,” Windelspecht says.
Port Authority officials said thousands have responded to a poll on the decorations. Executive Director Rick Cotton didn't give details since the poll is continuing. But he said that, based on results so far, "change is in the air."
The Associated Press wire services contributed to this report.