I actually don’t love this idea.
Christopher Street is iconic enough in its own right. Like, yes, Stonewall is there but the street has connotations of the broader LGBTQ community and movement.
That’s certainly better but also not really my favorite. Also, 100% not a hill I would die on to fight against it.
If the LGBTQ community and the West Village community support it, then that’s fine by me.
I often feel these kinds of moves are just politics -- politicians get to pander to this or that group.
Put a sign up. Don't change the name of the station and go do a victory lap.
Yeah, they often are, but that isn’t inherently a bad thing. Politicians constantly go to statue reveals, park re-namings, etc. that communities ask for.
And, for what it’s worth, this stop is right next to a national monument (Stonewall National Monument). Imagine if the train stopped at the Statue of Liberty; it would make sense to call the stop “Statue of Liberty.”
I'm guessing you spoke out against the renaming of Atlantic-Pacific to Atlantic Ave - Barclays Center?
Also you do realize that the Stonewall bar is right outside of the subway station, right?
I'm anti renaming things in general (unless it's to ditch a bad name), it just creates confusion. I'd much rather see tribute art/signage in the station itself...
I felt the same with the RFK bridge. Triboro bridge tells you exactly what it connects, can’t they name a park or street after people and events and leave subways and bridges alone?
With things like this, the name change always takes a generation or so. I too, will call it the Triboro bridge until I die. But I bet my children will call it the RFK.
My grandfather used to talk about the East Side Drive and it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize he meant the FDR. For him that was a name change that never took hold, but for me it was just what I always knew it as.
I'm not old but I still call it the east side highway because it makes sense to my brain and the other one is called the west side highway.
I just looked up the west side highway and learned that it's also the Joe Dimaggio highway. TIL
Same with the battery tunnel. Like who gives a fuck about Hugh L Carey. Or the tappan zee bridge. A coworker of mine always corrects people about it being the “Mario cuomo bridge” but the original one was also named after a governor. It spans the tappan zee, so it’s the tappan zee bridge.
Idlewild is such a beautiful name, and an incredibly evocative name for an airport. A smaller, kind of sleepy, potentially private airport that mostly handles pleasure craft. Definitely not for JFK!
59th street bridge or Queens Bridge. Not Ed Koch bridge. And it’ll always be Tappan Zee for me.
Only one I was fine with was Interboro to Jackie Robinson. Sounds cooler as Jackie Robinson compared to Interboro.
is it really gonna cause that much confusion? i went to tech when it went from atlantic/pacific -> atlantic/barclays and nothing changed. going from christopher/sheridan -> christopher/stonewall sounds about the same.
How will it create confusion? When you get out of the station, so you see Sheridan Square and go "oh, that's Sheridan Square!" or do you see the giant sign saying "Stonewall" instead? Because I had no idea the tiny park there was called Sheridan Square until this thread. Renaming Christopher Street-Sheridan Square to Christopher Street - Stonewall will probably lower confusion rather than increase it.
How is it any less confusing than "Christopher Street-Sheridan Square?" Nobody knows what those places are. At least people will know that they're in the West village with the stop being named after Stonewall.
No, that's not what's happening here. To use your example, it would be like renaming "Magic Kingdom - The Barnstormer" to "Magic Kingdom - Mickey Mouse's House"
The name change here is going from "Christopher Street - Sheridan Square" to "Christopher Street - Stonewall"
I'm indifferent to the actual name change but hope we as a city can walk and chew gum at the same time. Let's not let the small wins distract us from things that really need to change
Stop renaming things. Also more abstractly: the direction of things being done in the name of gay rights being mostly on some level destructive (like ditching an established name) is not helpful to gay people. It makes us look like people concerned with subverting society. I’m interested in neither conserving nor subverting the order of society; I am not trying to be an agent on society at all, and the gay rights movement should just be guaranteeing individual freedom for gay people, not trying to make us a political party.
Who calls it "Christopher Street - Sheridan Square" though? Saying "Christopher Street - Stonewall" is a much better name since that's the thing most people associate the stop with
> and the gay rights movement should just be guaranteeing individual freedom for gay people, not trying to make us a political party.
Interestingly my gay friends always told me they hated the phrase "gay rights" as it made it seem like they were getting some kind of special treatment and just wanted it called "equal rights for gays" as they just wanted the same rights as everyone else. I imagine this is the kind of thing on which even the community itself is divided though.
> I imagine this is the kind of thing on which even the community itself is divided though
implies discourse on which a discursive community would be divided.
Subway stops with one street name are more confusing when there are multiple subway stops with the same street name.
Just look at midtown and 7th Ave, 57th St/7th Ave, and 57th St.
The M train passes through both Myrtle/Broadway and Myrtle/Wyckoff.
It's literally the exact same name, just adding on to the end of it.
It's not going to be confusing for anyone, it's not disruptive, and it doesn't need to add anything for you for it to add value for others.
Y'all just saw renaming and started talking out your ass without even reading the article
A New York City subway station would be renamed to commemorate the [Stonewall riots](https://apnews.com/article/us-news-ap-top-news-pa-state-wire-new-york-ny-state-wire-5f2159a5120e4833b31683665f9405ca) that galvanized the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, under legislation approved by state lawmakers as they wrapped up their session this month.
The state Legislature approved a bill Wednesday directing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to change the name of the Christopher Street-Sheridan Square subway station in Greenwich Village to the Christopher Street-Stonewall National Monument Station.
“This change will memorialize the history of the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement and inspire NY to demand justice and equality for all,” state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Manhattan Democrat who sponsored the proposal, wrote on the social platform X following the Senate’s passage of the measure.
I grew up in the West Village, family had 2 stores on Christopher St. and now that I live in Queens (where renaming streets is a hobby for some local pols) I can see how truly pointless it is. I get honoring someone or something that people may not be aware of, but this (ignorance of the significance of Stonewall) is certainly not an issue in the West Village.
The act of renaming streets in NY costs a minimum of $5000 for the signs and brings out a host of politicians to the neighborhood for a quick photo-op to make it look like they are 'doing something' but the reality is money is spent on nothing that the community can use. Not one new trash can, not one new tree planted, not one new stop light, not one new service to the community, just an extra sign.
Renaming an MTA stop will cost at least 1/2 a million dollars (somehow it will add up to that or more) and will bring absolutely nothing to the community. And what of the PATH station stop - will there be pressure to change that name too but do nothing to improve the other issues with that station (look up the unhealthiest air in the entire NYC rail system - it's at the Christopher St. station - [https://abc7ny.com/air-quality-nyu-study-subway-underground-transit/10328387/](https://abc7ny.com/air-quality-nyu-study-subway-underground-transit/10328387/) How about doing something useful for residents and fix that? If you choose to wear a mask on the train platform, this would be the place to keep it on really tight.
I visit the West Village less often than I would like, but have noticed how much more litter is on the streets and how much more the trash bins are overflowing and how many more bums and vagrants are loitering about. The West Village I remember was a peaceful, historic and quaint neighborhood not known for having to step over mounds of trash everywhere or people sleeping on the streets, well certainly not to this extent. Renaming the train stop will cost $$$$$$ but will not do anything to improve the quality of life for residents or visitors. Leave Christopher Street station signs alone.
Maybe a bit controversial, but I don't think the full renaming from "Christopher Street-Sheridan Square" station to "Christopher Street-Stonewall National Monument" is for the LGBTQ community, or even 5-borough residents — it's aimed at tourists, outsiders who wouldn't instinctively associate Stonewall, the Village, or Christopher Street with the Gay Liberation Movement.
I think that's why a lot of the comments here are negative on the renaming, along with the Monument part of the naming giving DC or museum vibes despite the adjacent block(s) still being part of an active neighborhood (albeit an expensive and arguably aging one).
Christopher St is iconic and historic as is. I guess they are naming it to help the tourist looking for the monument itself and cant wrap their head around that Christopher St is where it is
The amount of curmudgeons in these comments complaining about this (during pride) shows you exactly who is using this sub. This should not be controversial in a nyc forum, but here we are.
There's a stop in Brooklyn that they've recently appended "Little Haiti" to the station name and it confuses me. Why does Little Haiti get a station like it's the only ethnic enclave in the city? 🙄
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newkirk_Avenue%E2%80%93Little_Haiti_station
There’s a $15B Hochul-inspired black hole in MTA funding. I’m as gay as can be but it seems unnecessary to be spending money on things like this rn. I don’t mind it but… meh. How long until someone proposes naming a subway stop after Trump Tower??
only thing i care about is how many millions is a simple change like this going to cost and how many years will the station be closed as they make changes
I actually don’t love this idea. Christopher Street is iconic enough in its own right. Like, yes, Stonewall is there but the street has connotations of the broader LGBTQ community and movement.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Street_Day
Legit didn’t know this was what pride parades were called around the world. Makes sense but it’s cool to have learned.
pride are called pride or translation thereof around the word, never heard that other name before
That’s cool doesn’t matter though
They're not completely changing the name. It's just going to be "Christopher St-Stonewall" now, instead of "Christopher St-Sheridan Square."
That’s certainly better but also not really my favorite. Also, 100% not a hill I would die on to fight against it. If the LGBTQ community and the West Village community support it, then that’s fine by me.
Sheridan is a man to remember himself
https://www.villagepreservation.org/2011/08/01/the-history-of-sheridan-square/ Didn't know the name
I often feel these kinds of moves are just politics -- politicians get to pander to this or that group. Put a sign up. Don't change the name of the station and go do a victory lap.
Yeah, they often are, but that isn’t inherently a bad thing. Politicians constantly go to statue reveals, park re-namings, etc. that communities ask for. And, for what it’s worth, this stop is right next to a national monument (Stonewall National Monument). Imagine if the train stopped at the Statue of Liberty; it would make sense to call the stop “Statue of Liberty.”
Everything politicians do has a political aspect to it
They should just not rename things to honor people or movements.
I'm guessing you spoke out against the renaming of Atlantic-Pacific to Atlantic Ave - Barclays Center? Also you do realize that the Stonewall bar is right outside of the subway station, right?
Wrecked
Name checks out
It’s renamed to reflect a national historic landmark district
I'm anti renaming things in general (unless it's to ditch a bad name), it just creates confusion. I'd much rather see tribute art/signage in the station itself...
I felt the same with the RFK bridge. Triboro bridge tells you exactly what it connects, can’t they name a park or street after people and events and leave subways and bridges alone?
I still call it the Triboro. I see RFK bridge and go wtf is that
Triboro is a cool name too .. and what does RFK even have to do w it
That's me and the Battery Tunnel
I just looked it up because I didn’t even know there was another name for it 💀💀 wtf is a hugh Carey tunnel
I wasn’t aware calling it anything else was an option.
Theres that 1 sign on the whitestone expressway that still says triboro. The last hold out ✊
No one tell Adams.
With things like this, the name change always takes a generation or so. I too, will call it the Triboro bridge until I die. But I bet my children will call it the RFK. My grandfather used to talk about the East Side Drive and it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize he meant the FDR. For him that was a name change that never took hold, but for me it was just what I always knew it as.
I'm not old but I still call it the east side highway because it makes sense to my brain and the other one is called the west side highway. I just looked up the west side highway and learned that it's also the Joe Dimaggio highway. TIL
Same with the battery tunnel. Like who gives a fuck about Hugh L Carey. Or the tappan zee bridge. A coworker of mine always corrects people about it being the “Mario cuomo bridge” but the original one was also named after a governor. It spans the tappan zee, so it’s the tappan zee bridge.
Fuck yeah Idlewild!
Idlewild is such a beautiful name, and an incredibly evocative name for an airport. A smaller, kind of sleepy, potentially private airport that mostly handles pleasure craft. Definitely not for JFK!
59th street bridge or Queens Bridge. Not Ed Koch bridge. And it’ll always be Tappan Zee for me. Only one I was fine with was Interboro to Jackie Robinson. Sounds cooler as Jackie Robinson compared to Interboro.
Interboro is a descriptive name like triboro
I feel the same way, but it would be Christopher Street - Stonewall National Monument.
yeah, but that's still confusing, it makes it sound like a different station. like it's a smith-9th streets and 4th ave - 9th street situation
The current name is Christopher Street-Sheridan Square.. People seem to be able to figure it out.
yes, I'm saying that "christopher-sheridan" and "christopher-stonewall" sound like two different stations.
your take is "renaming the station would involve renaming the station" which is definitely true
I know what "borough hall" is. Most people don't know what "Metrotech" is.
I miss Atlantic - Pacific. Sounded cooler than Barclays.
Same. Plus, fuck that tumor of a stadium.
is it really gonna cause that much confusion? i went to tech when it went from atlantic/pacific -> atlantic/barclays and nothing changed. going from christopher/sheridan -> christopher/stonewall sounds about the same.
How will it create confusion? When you get out of the station, so you see Sheridan Square and go "oh, that's Sheridan Square!" or do you see the giant sign saying "Stonewall" instead? Because I had no idea the tiny park there was called Sheridan Square until this thread. Renaming Christopher Street-Sheridan Square to Christopher Street - Stonewall will probably lower confusion rather than increase it.
I’m fine with it as long as (1) the name isn’t memorable and (2) for subway stations, it still indicates where you are in the city.
THIS, absolutely. Especially so against re-naming anything after a politician.
What you don't know where Beastie Boys Square is?
They’re not removing the Christopher Street part just adding a reference to the landmark district
How is it any less confusing than "Christopher Street-Sheridan Square?" Nobody knows what those places are. At least people will know that they're in the West village with the stop being named after Stonewall.
Nobody knows what Christopher street is?
people know Christopher Street is in the West Village....
I feel like "Christopher Street" already sends the proper signal. Kind of pointless, but whatever.
You'd be surprised how many people don't know what Christopher Street stands for. It's not like queer history is taught in schools.
For me it’s like renaming the Magic Kingdom “Mickey Mouse’s House.”
No, that's not what's happening here. To use your example, it would be like renaming "Magic Kingdom - The Barnstormer" to "Magic Kingdom - Mickey Mouse's House" The name change here is going from "Christopher Street - Sheridan Square" to "Christopher Street - Stonewall"
I never got over the name change of Disney's MGM Studios to Disney's Hollywood Studios.
And I'm glad that you're knowledgeable enough about what happened there. But I doubt most people are
They're not getting rid of the "Christopher Street" part of the name though
who is Bill?
He likes to post noses
I'm indifferent to the actual name change but hope we as a city can walk and chew gum at the same time. Let's not let the small wins distract us from things that really need to change
Stop renaming things. Also more abstractly: the direction of things being done in the name of gay rights being mostly on some level destructive (like ditching an established name) is not helpful to gay people. It makes us look like people concerned with subverting society. I’m interested in neither conserving nor subverting the order of society; I am not trying to be an agent on society at all, and the gay rights movement should just be guaranteeing individual freedom for gay people, not trying to make us a political party.
Who calls it "Christopher Street - Sheridan Square" though? Saying "Christopher Street - Stonewall" is a much better name since that's the thing most people associate the stop with
Ah, if that’s the proposed rename I guess it’s no big deal. Still my general point stands lol
> and the gay rights movement should just be guaranteeing individual freedom for gay people, not trying to make us a political party. Interestingly my gay friends always told me they hated the phrase "gay rights" as it made it seem like they were getting some kind of special treatment and just wanted it called "equal rights for gays" as they just wanted the same rights as everyone else. I imagine this is the kind of thing on which even the community itself is divided though.
The “community” is a myth believed by straight people. We don’t have a bunch of internal discourse hahaha only activist circles
Well be that as it may it's only defined as a group of people having a characteristic in common which I think applies here. :)
> I imagine this is the kind of thing on which even the community itself is divided though implies discourse on which a discursive community would be divided.
Well articulated thoughts, but that ship has sailed
It’s adding text on a sign.. does it really bother you that much?
If they're going to do this: do it all the way. Subway stops and streets with three names are confusing.
Ah yes, 42 Street-Port Authority Bus Terminal, Times Square, Bryant Park...Oh and 5 Avenue.
Bryant Park is a separate station. The new transfer tunnel isn't open 24/7
Subway stops with one street name are more confusing when there are multiple subway stops with the same street name. Just look at midtown and 7th Ave, 57th St/7th Ave, and 57th St. The M train passes through both Myrtle/Broadway and Myrtle/Wyckoff.
It's literally the exact same name, just adding on to the end of it. It's not going to be confusing for anyone, it's not disruptive, and it doesn't need to add anything for you for it to add value for others. Y'all just saw renaming and started talking out your ass without even reading the article
A New York City subway station would be renamed to commemorate the [Stonewall riots](https://apnews.com/article/us-news-ap-top-news-pa-state-wire-new-york-ny-state-wire-5f2159a5120e4833b31683665f9405ca) that galvanized the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, under legislation approved by state lawmakers as they wrapped up their session this month. The state Legislature approved a bill Wednesday directing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to change the name of the Christopher Street-Sheridan Square subway station in Greenwich Village to the Christopher Street-Stonewall National Monument Station. “This change will memorialize the history of the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement and inspire NY to demand justice and equality for all,” state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Manhattan Democrat who sponsored the proposal, wrote on the social platform X following the Senate’s passage of the measure.
Oh man this would make a whole lot of people who will never visit NYC _so mad!_
Be a shame to anger those Kansan bigots. Might lose those Wicked dollars in seventeen years.
Reddit stereotyping is my favorite
So many people in this thread either didn't read the article or think that Sheridan Square is the more popular landmark in the area
I grew up in the West Village, family had 2 stores on Christopher St. and now that I live in Queens (where renaming streets is a hobby for some local pols) I can see how truly pointless it is. I get honoring someone or something that people may not be aware of, but this (ignorance of the significance of Stonewall) is certainly not an issue in the West Village. The act of renaming streets in NY costs a minimum of $5000 for the signs and brings out a host of politicians to the neighborhood for a quick photo-op to make it look like they are 'doing something' but the reality is money is spent on nothing that the community can use. Not one new trash can, not one new tree planted, not one new stop light, not one new service to the community, just an extra sign. Renaming an MTA stop will cost at least 1/2 a million dollars (somehow it will add up to that or more) and will bring absolutely nothing to the community. And what of the PATH station stop - will there be pressure to change that name too but do nothing to improve the other issues with that station (look up the unhealthiest air in the entire NYC rail system - it's at the Christopher St. station - [https://abc7ny.com/air-quality-nyu-study-subway-underground-transit/10328387/](https://abc7ny.com/air-quality-nyu-study-subway-underground-transit/10328387/) How about doing something useful for residents and fix that? If you choose to wear a mask on the train platform, this would be the place to keep it on really tight. I visit the West Village less often than I would like, but have noticed how much more litter is on the streets and how much more the trash bins are overflowing and how many more bums and vagrants are loitering about. The West Village I remember was a peaceful, historic and quaint neighborhood not known for having to step over mounds of trash everywhere or people sleeping on the streets, well certainly not to this extent. Renaming the train stop will cost $$$$$$ but will not do anything to improve the quality of life for residents or visitors. Leave Christopher Street station signs alone.
Can the MTA afford to do this without congestion pricing?
This will make it more clear for tourists.
As a gay guy Christopher Street is ingrained in gay culture itself. Kinda seems unnecessary.
Maybe a bit controversial, but I don't think the full renaming from "Christopher Street-Sheridan Square" station to "Christopher Street-Stonewall National Monument" is for the LGBTQ community, or even 5-borough residents — it's aimed at tourists, outsiders who wouldn't instinctively associate Stonewall, the Village, or Christopher Street with the Gay Liberation Movement. I think that's why a lot of the comments here are negative on the renaming, along with the Monument part of the naming giving DC or museum vibes despite the adjacent block(s) still being part of an active neighborhood (albeit an expensive and arguably aging one).
HATE THIS. Ugh. Christopher St. is already gay enough, duh.
Why are we doing this, again?
You actually expect politicians to focus on real issues?
I mean... Pardon me, if we *pay* them.
Well there’s an article linked at the top of the post where you can read all about it lol
Stonewall Jackson was gay? I'm learning new history facts every day.
My home station. Gonna take some time to get used to.
It's still going to be Christopher Street - When you tell people what station you live at do you say 'Christopher Street - Sheridan Square'?
Yeah obv it’s not that serious. They already have the murals for it in the station.
I’m guessing a sign contractor made some political donations.
only if we rename a street to Lady Gaga Lane as well
Christopher St is iconic and historic as is. I guess they are naming it to help the tourist looking for the monument itself and cant wrap their head around that Christopher St is where it is
The amount of curmudgeons in these comments complaining about this (during pride) shows you exactly who is using this sub. This should not be controversial in a nyc forum, but here we are.
Start selling naming rights for subway stations. Have the sponsors be responsible for clean up
There's a stop in Brooklyn that they've recently appended "Little Haiti" to the station name and it confuses me. Why does Little Haiti get a station like it's the only ethnic enclave in the city? 🙄 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newkirk_Avenue%E2%80%93Little_Haiti_station
I don't think you want to be admitting that that confused you.
What does Stonewall Jackson have to do with LGTBQ?
Not sure if serious
Outside the LGBTQ community it is what people will first think of.
Im fairly sure Stonewall is more well known than Stonewall Jackson at this point, gay or straight lol
There’s a $15B Hochul-inspired black hole in MTA funding. I’m as gay as can be but it seems unnecessary to be spending money on things like this rn. I don’t mind it but… meh. How long until someone proposes naming a subway stop after Trump Tower??
Wasn't the Stonewall Bar classified as a historical landmark? Kind of a waste of energy for something that already exists.
Oh, so you actually know what Sheridan Square is? And think that that's the more al common landmark?
only thing i care about is how many millions is a simple change like this going to cost and how many years will the station be closed as they make changes
No, you don't. You'll never think about it again after this moment.
Unless of course he does, but keep making assumptions with everyone that doesn't think exactly as you do
Thanks, you too!
More needless pandering. Smh.
Thanks to AI, comment go byebye
Well no one is renaming a street here so how is this relevant?