Confederate flag 'looking' tiles to be changed in subway

NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - The MTA says it is going to "modify" tiles in a Manhattan subway station that people have complained look like Confederate Flags.

The pattern of tiles have been in the Times Square station for almost 100 years.  The architects are said to have installed them to pay homage to the Southern roots of former New York Times newspaper head Adolph S. Ochs.

The MTA has claimed the tiles actually are meant to honor Times Square’s nickname as the "Crossroads of the World" and are not Confederate Flags.

In a statement to Fox 5 News the MTA says:  "These are not confederate flags, it is a design based on geometric forms that represent the "Crossroads of the World" and to avoid absolutely any confusion we will modify them to make that absolutely crystal clear."  

The station sits below the former New York Times building and Times Square didn't actually exist at the time of the Civil War.

The station was renovated in 1998 and included re-creations of the original mosaic design.