23rd Street-Ely Avenue Becomes Court Square
If you have been on the 
, 
, 
, or 
recently, you will have seen signs from the MTA highlighting the name change of the Jay St-Borough Hall & Lawrence St-MetroTech to the simple Jay Street-MetroTech.
Now riders of the 
, 
, 
, & 
should expect to see similar signs as the agency has announced that the 23rd Street-Ely Ave station has been renamed Court Square in anticipation of the soon to open transfer connection between the & . When the in-system transfer officially opens, the 45th Rd-Court House Sq station will be renamed to Court Square as well.
Here is a brief press release the MTA sent out a little while ago:
MTA New York City Transit announces that the 23rd Street-Ely Avenue IND Queens Boulevard (E, M) station has been renamed Court Square-23rd Street, in anticipation of the opening of the free transfer connection between the G and the 7 lines at Court Square. Changes in the subway maps and on our automated train announcements are already underway. New station signage will be appearing shortly.
Opened in 1933, the station is located on 44th Drive between 23rd and 21st Streets in Long Island City, Queens. Ely Avenue was the original name of 23rd Street before streets in the borough were given numbers by the Queens Topographical Bureau in 1915. It is the last station in the borough on the Queens Boulevard line before crossing the East River through the 53rd Street tunnel into Manhattan. The station is served by the E train at all times and the M on weekdays (except for the late night hours). There is a moving sidewalk in the passageway connecting the E, M and the G mezzanines.
The debut of the new free connection between the 7 and G lines is expected sometime this spring and will create a unified station complex consisting of the Queens Boulevard E, M, the Flushing 7 and crosstown G lines. When the transfer opens, the 45th Road-Court House Square 7 station will also be renamed Court Square and the G station will drop “Long Island City” (which appears only on the map) from the name. All platforms within the station complex will then have a unifying name.
Hopefully the transfer opens soon as it is long overdue especially in an area that has seen tremendous growth over the last few years. It will be a huge asset within the system for years to come.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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This is the last element of the 63rd Street Subway Connector service plan of 2001 to be implemented by MTA. Following the public comment period, MTA implemented suggestions to help G-riders and Long Island City residents, since G-service was being truncated in favor of more Manhattan-bound service. MetroCard-based free transfers were implemented immediately at this station and between the 63rd St-Lexington Av station and 59th St IRT stations. The new transfer facility at Court Sq, however, had to wait for available capital funds. It has been ten years in the making – but MTA kept its promise.