Roselle gets the last word: Misspelled 'visivting' sign fixed
The sign, posted on the bridge between Locust Street and West First Avenue, has officially been spell-checked.
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The viral typo that turned a Roselle sign into a social media punchline has been fixed.
The sign, posted on the bridge between Locust Street and West First Avenue, made the rounds on social media after visitors were thanked for “visivting” the borough. The misspelled “visiting” has now been corrected.
Former Roselle mayor and Assemblyman Jamel Holley posted a photo of the misspelled sign a week ago, criticizing borough officials over the error.
“To those visiting the Borough of Roselle or just passing through: On behalf of our residents, who are by and large remarkable people, please know that the incompetence of borough government is not a reflection of this community,” Holley said.
Social media users raced to the comments section under the original photo, questioning how the typo made it onto the sign and calling the mistake everything from embarrassing to hilarious.
Before the correction, Mayor Donald A. Shaw acknowledged the mistake in a statement to News 12 and said it was being addressed.
“There is a typo on the sign, and it is being addressed. Who knew a misspelling was all it took to get people talking about Roselle,” Shaw said.
Shaw also used the attention to highlight development in the borough, including work along a main street, construction of a new youth center, a summer youth employment program and loans aimed at helping small businesses improve their facades.
Roselle’s message to visitors may now be spelled correctly, but Holley has additional criticisms of the sign itself.
The sign also features the mayor’s name in large, white letters at its center, along with “Roselle Stronger Together” and “Borough of Roselle First in Light” — a nod to the borough’s history with Thomas Edison’s incandescent electric lighting system — in gold letters.
"While we understand the current mayor is from Queens, N.Y., we must remind him that our borough’s colors are red and gray, and that this is the Borough of Roselle — not his name, which takes up nearly the entire length of the sign," Holley wrote on Facebook. "We'll take this version for now, since it's been corrected for grammar. That said, put some respect on our representation. No shade!"
