Baruch now has its name on the subway map. The 6 train’s 23 St. station, used by thousands of Baruch students each day with its near convenience to campus, was just renamed to “23 Street–Baruch College Station.” The new signage was unveiled at a ribbon cutting ceremony with Baruch President S. David Wu, CUNY Chancellor Felix V. Matos Rodriguez,
Metropolitan Transit Authority CEO and Chair Janno Lieber, local leaders and Baruch student leaders on Oct. 17. Signage bearing the new name is now visible at multiple 6 train entrances along 23rd Street and Park Avenue.
“We’re always open to renaming stations where there’s a significant destination, like Baruch College, right by the subway,” Lieber said in a press release. “The school is a cornerstone of not only the CUNY system but the community, and we’re proud to recognize its contributions with new signage.”
The station has become the seventh in the city to be named after a CUNY college. This group consists of the stations: Franklin Av–Medgar Evers College, President Av–Medgar Evers College, 68 St–Hunter College, 137 St–City College, Flatbush Av–Brooklyn College and Bedford Park Blvd–Lehman College.
The station’s renaming was brought by an assembly bill introduced and sponsored by Assembly Member Harvey Epstein and State Senator Kristen Gonzalez. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the legislation in 2024.
The renaming was praised as a tribute to Baruch’s growing recognition in rankings from the U.S. News & World Report, Forbes and The Princeton Review. This year, Baruch ranked first on the Wall Street Journal’s list of “best value” colleges for the third consecutive year for affordability and strong post-graduate salaries. CUNY colleges took the top seven spots on The WSJ list.
“Baruch has been named the nation’s top college for social mobility for low and middle-income students,” Epstein said in a press release. “The co-naming of this station celebrates Baruch’s incredible impact on our city, state, and country.”
Before the renaming could take effect, Baruch’s sponsors had to meet the MTA’s requirements for changing the station’s name.
The requirements state that the new name must not interfere with a commuter’s ability to identify or distinguish the station.
Second, the sponsor must clearly justify the renaming with a “compelling link” — whether historical, geographical or institutional —between the proposed name and the station.
Finally, the sponsor is responsible for covering all associated costs, including updated signage, revised loudspeaker announcements and changes to the subway map.
It is unclear where the funds came from and how much it cost for the renaming of the now 23 Street—Baruch College Station.
For reference, the 2020 project to rename the Franklin Avenue and President Avenue subway stations for Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights, Brooklyn was supported by a $250,000 legislative grant made available by Assemblymember Diana Richardson.
Those costs covered updating 2,490 electronic strip maps that appear on train cars, loud speaker announcements for 1,245 train cars and 3,174 in-car subway maps, according to an MTA press release.
The 23 Street–Baruch College Station now joins a growing list of subway stations renamed to recognize the students they serve on their daily commutes to and from campus.
