MTA stealthily renames Manhattan station at major hub

Photo credit: Getty Images

Dude, where’s my stop?

The MTA has stealthily changed the name of a station at a major transit hub with little fanfare and without consulting a panel that advocates for straphangers.

In the past few weeks, the MTA rechristened the Broadway-Nassau station as just Fulton Street.

For less savvy riders and tourists, the sudden change adds up to a ton of confusion — and could even get them lost.

“If you are tourist and you are looking on your map for Broadway-Nassau after Chambers Street and you don’t see it — you’re going to Brooklyn,” said Andrew Albert of the Transit Riders Council, which represents riders.

Riders council members fumed at a meeting Thursday that the MTA changed the station name without public notice and hasn’t changed subway maps.

Council member Trudy Mason complained that the maps should have been changed before the holidays.

“Tourism is one of the biggest industries in New York, and people are traveling and they don’t know where they are going,” she said.

amNY managed to find one small poster at the station announcing the change Thursday. At press time, there’s still no mention of the change on MTA.info. When asked about the council's claims that there was no public education about the change, Ortiz said the charge was incorrect, adding that the Manhattan Borough President and commuity board was notified in 2006.

On the other hand, another recent name change to a Brooklyn — renaming Jay Street-Borough Hall to renamed Jay Street-MetroTech was widely promoted by the MTA.

An MTA spokesman said the agency changing the name to Fulton Street to help riders having the same name for all sections of the hub, which includes six lines.

The change was made as part of the $1.4 billion Fulton Street Transit Center project, spokesman Kevin Ortiz said.

“Having a single, common station name for all platforms in the complex would simplify passenger way finding and travel directions and reduce passenger confusion,” he said.

He added that new maps are being printed and conductors are clarifying for passengers.

Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign said while he agrees the new name will make the hub easier to navigate, the MTA should have posted the new information on its website right away.

New Yorker Jason Kutch, 25, said the new label doesn’t matter to him.

“I still call it Broadway-Nassau,” he said. “I was born and raised here. I know where I’m going.”

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Delicious
• Digg
• Stumble Upon