21st Street station (IND Crosstown Line)

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For the station actually at 21st Street & 41st Avenue, see 21st Street–Queensbridge (IND 63rd Street Line).
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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".Template:RpTemplate:RpTemplate:Rp 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.Template:Rp The Van Alst name is shared with the Van Alst Playground, on 21st Street and 30th Avenue in Astoria.

## Station layout

 **B1** | Mezzanine
 **B2**Platform level

 File:IND Crosstown 21st Street-Van Alst Tile Caption.jpg
 File:21alstindstair.jpg
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.

## External links

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* 21st Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
* Platform from Google Maps Street View

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1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `NYTimes-INDQBLCrstwnOpen-1933`
2. ↑ Template:Cite news
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Long in Repose, Last Remnants of a Founding Family Will Leave Long Island City. *The New York Times* (November 3, 2014). Retrieved on November 7, 2015.
4. ↑ Ely Subway Stop to Open – Queens Station on City-Owned Line Begins Service Tomorrow. *The New York Times* (August 26, 1939). Retrieved on October 4, 2015.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Archeological Monitoring at the Site of the Van Alst Family Cemetery. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (April 2016).
6. ↑ Archaeological and Historical Sensitivity Evaluation of the Korea News Project. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (May 1991).
7. ↑ Final Environmental Impact Statement for Dutch KILLS Rezoning and Related Actions; Chapter 7: Historic Resources. New York City Planning Commission (August 29, 2008).
8. ↑ Long Island City Rezoning: Preliminary Archaeological Assessment. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Template:Cite report
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 MTA Neighborhood Maps: Long Island City. Metropolitan Transportation Authority (2015). Retrieved on September 27, 2015.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Abandoned Station Entrance: 21st Van Alst (October 21, 2015).
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 G Train (February 4, 2012). Archived from the original on February 4, 2012.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Cox, Jeremiah. 21 St-Van Alst (G) - The SubwayNut.
14. ↑ The G Train From Smith-9th Streets to Long Island City. *The New York Times* (January 10, 2008). Retrieved on October 14, 2015.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 www.nycsubway.org: IND Crosstown Line.