Inside the MTA sign shop

From NBC 4:

Keeping the nation's largest subway system up-to-date is no easy task -- and ever since the MTA announced huge service changes will take effect June 28, artists at the little known "Sign Shop" in Crown Heights, Brooklyn have been working double-shifts get the job done.

One of the main tasks: silk-screening new signage for the Sixth Avenue line, where the previously brown M train will become an orange-line train for the first time ever.

The huge facility -- in an old Brooklyn trolley barn -- is busier than at any time since 9/11, when temporary service changes required some quick new signs.

"It's a huge challenge, but we embrace it," says John Montemarano, Director of Station Signs for New York City Transit.

He explained that some of the tasks ahead are low-tech -- like placing decals over the soon-to-be-defunct "V" logos.

Other projects are bigger, including brand new aluminum signs for much of the Broadway line, where the Q will be extended to Astoria instead of ending at 57th Street.

The total price tag for new signs, station maps, stickers, decals and other renderings is estimated at $800,000.