The sign at West Houston Street in the SoHo neighborhood says M-E-R-S-E-R instead of M-E-R-C-E-R.
Residents and knowledgeable passers-by are laughing at it.
Beth Gottlieb says it's funny but pretty inept. She says she alerted the city worker who was putting up the sign last week across from the Angelika Film Center but he replied he was just doing his job.
The book "A Landmark History of New York" says Mercer Street was named for Hugh Mercer, a brigadier general who died from battle wounds in 1777.
A Department of Transportation spokesman says a correct sign will be installed soon.
