Gabe Kaplan who played Mr. Kotter told the Daily News: “I passed it almost every day on the Belt Parkway coming back from work in Manhattan. It meant so much that I put it into the main title.” Producer Alan Sacks went to Brooklyn with a handheld camera and shot the sign and street scenes for the show.
The sign was first put up in 1970 commissioned by Borough President Sebastian Leone. He ordered it be put where everyone driving over the Verrazano could see it.
He started getting angry letters from counsel people in Philadelphia. Saying “Hey! Wait a minute Sebastian, Philadelphia is the 4th largest city, How Dare You!”
There were several versions of the sign. One had a misspelling of Sebastian’s name. I believe that was done for a promotional photo for the show and was a mock up. The first one was reportedly stolen. I made the replica double sided. You can flip it over and choose which sign to display.
Side 1: Sebastian Leone Bi-Centennial Version (1976 version with stars).
Side 2: Howard Golden version as seen in Welcome Back Kotter Season 4 in 1979.
Howard was a beloved public servant and served as Brooklyn Borough President from 1978 to 2001.
The Leone Bi-Centenial version is the last surviving sign.
It was owned by Nino Russo and had been hanging at Gargiulos Restaurant in Coney Island. When Marty Markowitz pressed him to let him borrow it to display in Borough Hall. Nick agreed only if Marty won his 3rd term. Marty won and they did a big ceremony revealing the sign.
For this replica, I have done extensive research on the signs and visited the location where the signs once stood. I painstakingly recreated them to be identical to the originals. Putting all graffiti back. They are the actual tags that were on the sign. I hope the model brings all who get one a lifetime of joyous memories.
Dimensions: L 5.5in x W 6.2in x H 5.71in
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