Yellow taxis to promote Super Bowl

Up to a thousand New York City yellow taxis are going to help kick off the Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium by draping their cars with football ads.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission approved the initiative to slap a Super Bowl design on the vehicles' trunk, hood and roof, even though Commissioner David Yassky said he has rejected about a dozen similar requests as "visual clutter."

But the Super Bowl, he reasoned, was a unique event that New York City is hosting for the first time at MetLife Stadium, across the Hudson.

"Having a Super Bowl in New York City is a big deal," he said. "The economic benefits to the city are quite substantial."

Adam Wolske of Sport Graphics, an NFL contractor, said the program would reach out to fleet owners to participate voluntarily, though owner-operators are welcome to boost the Super Bowl on their vehicles. The promotional taxi wraps would start hitting the streets December 15 through game day on Feb. 2, and be removed by Feb. 12.