Forgive me if this story has already been posted, but I didn’t see it using the Search:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/should-the-city-seal-be-redesigned/
Such imbecility. He thinks Dexter and Sinister are the names of the sailor and the Indian?
Who really cares if they fix the date, but it would be a heraldic and historical catastrophe if they fiddled with the arms themselves, which date (except for the crest) to 1686.
Can anyone guide me to the legislation in question? Is the legislation that inadvertantly eliminated one of the two beavers in effect today, making the arms unbalanced, if you will?
Joseph McMillan;61485 wrote:
Such imbecility. He thinks Dexter and Sinister are the names of the sailor and the Indian?
LOL!!!!!! This alone made me go and read the article.
I think (I hope!) that the piece was written partially tongue in cheek. If you read the some of the comments below, they are almost as funny/maddening as the article itself.
I just hope that any redesigned arms will be easier for me to draw in my signature bar—the beavers there are not my greatest artistic product. :rolleyes: 
Joseph McMillan;61485 wrote:
Such imbecility. He thinks Dexter and Sinister are the names of the sailor and the Indian?
I couldn’t tell from that sentence whether the writer was making a joke, New Yorkers had nicknamed the supporters, or if the author was out of his mind.
I don’t know but:
Quote:
Flanking the shield are the sailor, named Dexter, and the Indian, called Sinister (the names, ostensibly, denoting their positions).
sure sounds like he thinks the sailor is named Dexter (boy genius?) and the Indian is Sinister. Which is about as politically incorrect as one can be.
Joseph McMillan;61515 wrote:
I don’t know but:
sure sounds like he thinks the sailor is named Dexter (boy genius?) and the Indian is Sinister. Which is about as politically incorrect as one can be.
There are morons everywhere.
i think the idea the seal should be changed everytime something happens in the history of new york. that the seal is racist, as the one man said, beause it doesnt show what happened to the black population of new york. how unfortunate that the king of arms in the 17th century did not have this forsight. hmm by this, i guess our ouwn country’s arms needs some updating. can you believe the founding fathers had nothing about slavery, world war I or II, nothing about vietnam, iraq…. what imbeciles 
This was my favorite comment:
Quote:
...remove Dexter’s pants and move him closer to the beavers, so that we may honor the Times Square of the 1970s.
I spotted this article on the evolution of New York’s arms:
http://manhattanunlocked.blogspot.com/2010/11/architecture-lesson-1.html
If the author would allow it, this would make a worthy addition to the various documents on our AHS website!