As it’s Pride Month, it seems fitting for members of the New York Senate to vote in favor of renaming a subway station to honor the Stonewall National Monument.

On Wednesday, Senate members voted unanimously to pass a bill introduced by Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assembly Member Deborah Glick. Both are out lawmakers. Glick represents district 66, which includes Greenwich Village and Soho.

The legislation (Assembly bill A8970A) directs the MTA to rename Christopher Street Station in West Greenwich Village as “Christopher Street-Stonewall National Monument Station”. The bill will now go to Governor Kathy Hochul for signing.

Christopher Street subway station
(Photo: Shutterstock)

The Stonewall Monument

The station is the closest to the Stonewall Inn. A police raid on the Inn in June 1969 was the catalyst for several nights of rioting. This uprising kick-started the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. A commemorative march to mark the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots is considered the city’s first Pride march.

In June 2016, President Barack Obama designated the area around the Inn, including the small Christopher Street Park, as the Stonewall National Monument. In doing so, it became the first US national monument designated by a historic LGBTQ+ event.

Senator Hoylman-Sigal welcomed the passing of his bill.

“The Senate passed the bill AM Glick and I share to rename the Christopher St 1 station after the Stonewall National Monument. This change will memorialize the history of the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement and inspire NY to demand justice and equality for all,” he said on X, adding, “Happy Pride!”

On a similar note, the NYC Department of Transportation announced on Monday that it’s selling a limited number of commemorative street signs. It will pick a different street sign each month.

It began the series with signs for Stonewall Pl/Christopher St, to tie in with Pride Month.

Perhaps unsure of demand, or because it wanted to maintain some limited exclusivity, it only produced 50 signs for sale. They sold out within three hours.