23 Street  ​
Southbound platform with arriving W train
Station statistics
Address	23rd Street, Fifth Avenue & Broadway New York, New York
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Flatiron District,Madison Square
Coordinates	40°44′29″N73°59′21″W / 40.741339°N 73.989272°W /40.741339; -73.989272
Division	B (BMT)[1]
Line	BMT Broadway Line
Services	N  (weekends and late nights) ​  Q  (late nights only) ​  R  (all except late nights) ​  W  (weekdays only)
Transit	NYCT Bus:M1,M2,M3,M23 SBS,M55,X27,X28,X37,X38,SIM1C,SIM3,SIM3C,SIM4C,SIM10,SIM31,SIM33C MTA Bus:BxM6,BxM7,BxM8,BxM9,BxM10,BM1,BM2,BM3,BM4,QM21
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	January 5, 1918 (107 years ago) (1918-01-05)[2]
Traffic
2024	4,517,469[3]  6%
Rank	65 out of 423[3]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 28th Street N  ​Q  ​R  ​W  viaLexington Avenue–59th Street Local 14th Street–Union Square N  ​Q  ​R  ​W  viaWhitehall Street–South Ferry
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to28th Street to14th St–Union Square
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops weekdays during the day Stops late nights and weekends Stops late nights only

The23rd Street station is a localstation on theBMT Broadway Line of theNew York City Subway. Located at the intersection of23rd Street,Broadway, andFifth Avenue in theFlatiron District ofManhattan, it is served by theR train at all times except late nights, theW train on weekdays, theN train during late nights and weekends, and theQ train during late nights.

TheNew York Public Service Commission adopted plans for what was known as the Broadway–Lexington Avenue route on December 31, 1907. This route began atthe Battery and ran underGreenwich Street, Vesey Street, Broadway toNinth Street, private property toIrving Place, and Irving Place andLexington Avenue to theHarlem River. After crossing under the Harlem River intothe Bronx, the route split at Park Avenue and 138th Street, with one branch continuing north to and alongJerome Avenue toWoodlawn Cemetery, and the other heading east and northeast along 138th Street,Southern Boulevard, andWestchester Avenue toPelham Bay Park. In early 1908, the Tri-borough plan was formed, combining this route, the under-constructionCentre Street Loop Subway in Manhattan andFourth Avenue Subway in Brooklyn, aCanal Street subway from the Fourth Avenue Subway via the Manhattan Bridge to theHudson River, and several other lines in Brooklyn.^[4][5]

The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company submitted a proposal to the commission, dated March 2, 1911, to operate the Tri-borough system (but under Church Street instead of Greenwich Street), as well as a branch along Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 59th Street from Ninth Street north and east to theQueensboro Bridge; the Canal Street subway was to merge with the Broadway Line instead of continuing to the Hudson River. The city, the BRT, and theInterborough Rapid Transit Company (which operated the firstsubway and fourelevated lines in Manhattan) came to an agreement, and sent a report to theNew York City Board of Estimate on June 5, 1911. The line along Broadway to 59th Street was assigned to the BRT, while the IRT obtained theLexington Avenue line, connecting with its existing route atGrand Central–42nd Street. Construction began on Lexington Avenue on July 31, and on Broadway the next year. TheDual Contracts, two operating contracts between the city and the BMT and IRT, were adopted on March 4, 1913.^[6]

A short portion of the line, coming off the north side of the Manhattan Bridge through Canal Street to14th Street–Union Square, opened on September 4, 1917, at 2 P.M., with an eight car train carrying members of the Public Service Commission, representatives of the city government and officials of the BRT, leaving Union Square toward Coney Island. Service opened to the general public at 8 P.M., with trains leaving Union Square and Coney Island simultaneously.^[7] The line was served by two services. One route ran via the Fourth Avenue Line and the Sea Beach Line to Coney Island, while the other line, the short line, ran to Ninth Avenue, where passengers could transfer for West End and Culver Line service. The initial headway on the line was three minutes during rush hours, three minutes and forty-five seconds at other times, except during late nights when service ran every fifteen minutes.^[8]

23rd Street station opened on January 5, 1918, as the BMT Broadway Line was extended north from14th Street–Union Square toTimes Square–42nd Street and south toRector Street. Service at this station was provided by local services running between Times Square and Rector Street.^[2] Service was extended one station toWhitehall Street–South Ferry on September 20, 1918.^[9][10] On August 1, 1920, theMontague Street Tunnel opened, extending local service from Lower Manhattan toDeKalb Avenue inDowntown Brooklyn by traveling under theEast River.^[11][12]

The station's platforms originally could only fit six 67-foot-long (20 m) cars. In 1926, theNew York City Board of Transportation received bids for the lengthening of platforms at nine stations on the Broadway Line, including the 23rd Street station, to accommodate eight-car trains. Edwards & Flood submitted a low bid of $101,775 for the project.^[13] The platform-lengthening project was completed in 1927, bringing the length of the platforms to 535 feet (163 m).^[14][15]

The city government took over the BMT's operations on June 1, 1940.^[16][17] The station was renovated in the 1970s to accommodate ten-car trains. As part of the renovation, the original wall tiles, old signs, andincandescent lighting were covered by modern-look wall tile band and tablet mosaics, and new signs andfluorescent lights were installed. Staircases and platform edges were also renovated.

On January 3, 1999, a schizophrenic man, Andrew Goldstein, pushed 32-year-old journalist and photographerKendra Webdale onto the tracks from the Brooklyn-bound platform of this station. Webdale was then struck and killed by an oncoming N train.^[18] After two mistrials due to his mental incapacity, Goldstein pleaded guilty of manslaughter in October 2006 and sentenced to 23 years in prison.^[19] The incident led to the passing ofKendra's Law, which allows judges to order people suffering from certain psychological disorders to undergo regular treatment.^[20][21]

In 2001, the station received a major refurbishment, including installingADA yellow safety treads along the platform edges, restoring the original tiling, repairing the staircases, installing new tiling on the floors, new signage and upgrading the station's lighting and installing a public address system.

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← towardForest Hills–71st Avenue(28th Street) ← towardAstoria–Ditmars Boulevard weekdays(28th Street) ← toward Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard late nights/weekends(28th Street) ← toward96th Street late nights(28th Street)
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	← towardBay Ridge–95th Street(14th Street–Union Square) → ← towardWhitehall Street–South Ferry weekdays(14th Street–Union Square) → ← towardConey Island–Stillwell Avenue viaSea Beach late nights/weekends(14th Street–Union Square) → ← toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue viaBrighton late nights(14th Street–Union Square)
	Side platform

This underground station has four tracks and twoside platforms. The two center tracks are used by theN train on weekdays andQ train at all times except late nights. The platforms have their original trim line, which has "23" tablets on it at regular intervals, and name tablets, which read "23RD STREET" in serif font.

The 2002 artwork here is calledMemories of Twenty-Third Street byKeith Godard. The platform walls feature mosaics depicting hats that famous people of theFlatiron District wore, includingOscar Wilde,Sarah Bernhardt, andW. E. B. Du Bois.^[22]

Each platform has two same-levelfare control areas. The primary ones are at the north ends of the platforms. The Queens-bound platform has a bank of regular and high exit-only turnstiles, the station's full-time token booth, and four street stairs. Two go up to the northeastern corner of Broadway and 23rd Street (outsideMadison Square Park) and the other two go to the southeast. The Brooklyn-bound platform has a bank of regular and high exit-only turnstiles, a now defunct customer assistance booth, and two street stairs. One is connected to fare control via a passageway and goes up to the southeastern corner of 23rd Street and Fifth Avenue outside theFlatiron Building, while the other goes up to the northwestern corner of Broadway and Fifth Avenue, near a mid-block pedestrian crossing.^[23]

The station's other two fare control areas are at the south end of the station. The one on the Queens-bound platform is unstaffed, containingHigh Entry-Exit Turnstiles and one staircase going up to the northeastern corner of 22nd Street and Broadway. The turnstile on the Brooklyn-bound platform is exit-only and has one staircase to the northwest corner of 22nd Street and Broadway.^[23] There is a crossunder here that was closed in the 1990s and is now only used for station facilities.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to23rd Street (BMT Broadway Line).

• nycsubway.org –BMT Broadway Subway: 23rd Street
• Station Reporter —N Train
• Station Reporter —R Train
• MTA's Arts For Transit —23rd Street (BMT Broadway Line)
• Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street entrance (in front of Flatiron Building) from Google Maps Street View
• Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Broadway and 23rd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Broadway and 22nd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View

• BMT Broadway Line stations
• Broadway (Manhattan)
• New York City Subway stations in Manhattan
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1918
• 1918 establishments in New York City
• Flatiron District
• 23rd Street (Manhattan)

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