21st Street station (IND Crosstown Line)

The 21st Street station (also formerly 21st Street–Van Alst station) is a station on the IND Crosstown Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 21st Street and Jackson Avenue in the Hunters Point section of Long Island City, Queens, it is served by the G train at all times.
== History ==
21st Street was part of the first phase of the IND Crosstown Line, with service south to Nassau Avenue in Brooklyn. The site of the station was excavated by April 1929. The station opened on August 19, 1933. The secondary name "Van Alst" refers to Van Alst Avenue, the former name of 21st Street. The patriarch of the Van Alst family was Belgian Dutch sailor Joris Stevensen, who settled in what was then New Amsterdam in 1652, and purchased land in Long Island City in 1670. Stevensen was known as "de Caper van Alst" (the sailor from Aalst"), leading future members of the family to assume the surname "Van Alst". The family later constructed a private cemetery (now an empty lot at the former site of the West Disinfecting Company facility) on Jackson Avenue and Orchard Street near modern Queens Plaza. The Van Alst name is shared with the Van Alst Playground, on 21st Street and 30th Avenue in Astoria.
==Station layout==
G 	Street level 	Exit/entrance
B1 	Mezzanine 	Fare control, station agent
B2Platform level	Northbound 	← toward ()
B2Platform level	Island platform	Island platform
B2Platform level	Southbound 	toward () →
The station has two tracks and one island platform, built with a slight curve, as is Jackson Avenue at this location. The trackside wall trim line is green with a black border and small "21" tile captions run underneath in white numbering on a black background. The platform and mezzanine columns are Hunter green (previously they were violet) with every other platform column having the standard black station name plate with white lettering. A booth for NYPD Transit Police District 20 is located at the southern end of the platform. There is a full-length mezzanine above the platform; however, only the northern half is open and has two staircases from the platform. The southern half had three staircases to the platform and is used for storage and employee offices.
Like many stations on the Crosstown Line, this station is in poor condition as the wall tile has been damaged by underground springs, particularly on the southbound side. Despite this damage, there are no plans to make repairs.
North of this station, a center track briefly forms between the two main tracks of the Crosstown Line. This track allows trains to terminate on either track at Court Square. As a result, there is a train route selection panel at the north end of the northbound track.
===Exits===
The station's only entrance/exit, from the northern mezzanine, has a turnstile bank, token booth, and three street stairs to the three-way intersection of 21st Street, Jackson Avenue, and 47th Avenue, at the point where New York State Route 25A turns from 21st Street to Jackson Avenue.
== References ==
== External links ==
* 21st Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
* Platform from Google Maps Street View
Category:IND Crosstown Line stations
Category:New York City Subway stations in Queens, New York
Category:New York City Subway stations located underground
Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1933
Category:1933 establishments in New York City
Category:Long Island City