The madrasa is formally drowning in its environment of flashy signs and a misshapen cityscape.

The runways are awash in sulky layers or, reflecting an opposite mood, flashy signs of glam rock.

Jackson Heights merchants with flashy signs say landmarks guidelines will cut profits and drive them out of business; residents say they are trying to maintain a neighborhood's character.

Surely the Holzer commission is the flashiest sign to date of the museum's Spanish-language campaign.

Some residents complain about flashy signs on the street and banners hung across the avenue.

And the recently affluent technology workers who had come to believe in the "long boom," the idea that prosperity would be permanent, are quietly giving up their flashy signs of success to make ends meet.

They also dislike design guidelines that prohibit flashy signs, each fighting to stand out in the crowd.

The view that big, flashy signs are vital to Times Square's distinctive character was the basis for the 1986 law encouraging their construction.

They call out with flashy signs, subway banners and ads in the Yellow Pages, promising to deliver hassle-free divorces at rock-bottom prices.

Supporters of the proposed guidelines denied any racist intent and said the stores were singled out merely because of their flashy signs.