The 23rd Street–Baruch College station (known as 23rd Street until 2025) is a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Park Avenue South and 23rd Street in Gramercy Park and Flatiron District, Manhattan, it is served by trains at all times, <6> trains during weekdays in the peak direction, and trains during late night hours.

The 23rd Street station was constructed for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as part of the city's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. Construction of the line segment that includes the 23rd Street station started on September 12 of the same year. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. The station's platforms were lengthened in the late 1940s. In 2025, it was renamed after the nearby Baruch College.

The 23rd Street station contains two side platforms and four tracks; express trains use the inner two tracks to bypass the station. The station was built with tile and mosaic decorations, which are continued along the platform extensions. The platforms contain exits to 22nd Street to the south and 23rd Street to the north. The platforms are not connected to each other within fare control. The station contains elevators from the street, which make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

History

Construction and opening

Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864. The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, the Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer. It called for a subway line from New York City Hall in lower Manhattan to the Upper West Side, where two branches would lead north into the Bronx. A plan was formally adopted in 1897, in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line. The 23rd Street station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway from City Hall to 145th Street on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. the station was served by local trains along both the West Side (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street) and East Side (now the Lenox Avenue Line). West Side local trains had their southern terminus at City Hall during rush hours and South Ferry at other times, and had their northern terminus at 242nd Street. East Side local trains ran from City Hall to Lenox Avenue (145th Street).

To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway. As part of a modification to the IRT's construction contracts made on January 18, 1910, the company was to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to $1.5 million (equivalent to $ million in ) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $ million in ) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent. Platforms at local stations, such as the 23rd Street station, were lengthened by between . Both platforms were extended to the north and south.

In December 1922, the Transit Commission approved a $3 million project to lengthen platforms at 14 local stations along the original IRT line, including 23rd Street and seven other stations on the Lexington Avenue Line. Platform lengths at these stations would be increased from . The commission postponed the platform-lengthening project in September 1923, at which point the cost had risen to $5.6 million.

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940. In January 1947, the New York City Board of Transportation awarded a $4.003 million contract for the lengthening of platforms at the 23rd Street, , and stations. The platform extensions at all three stations opened on April 13, 1948, after which they could accommodate ten-car trains.

In 1981, the MTA listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system. A renovation of the 23rd Street station was funded as part of the MTA's 1980–1984 capital plan. The MTA received a $106 million grant from the Urban Mass Transit Administration in October 1983; most of the grant would fund the renovation of eleven stations, including 23rd Street. In late 2014, construction began to install ADA-accessible elevators in the station. To make room for the elevator that serves the northbound platform, the northbound staircase on the northeastern corner of Park Avenue South and 23rd Street had to be demolished, and was relocated a few feet down the street. The relocated staircase opened in August 2015. The construction was completed in December 2016, making the station fully ADA-compliant.

On September 20, 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill that would rename the station 23rd Street–Baruch College after the nearby Baruch College. This name change was ultimately made on October 17, 2025. In 2026, as part of a pilot program to reduce fare evasion at New York City Subway stations, the MTA installed full-height, glass-paneled turnstiles at the 23rd Street–Baruch College station.

Station layout

Like other local stations, 23rd Street has four tracks and two side platforms. The 6 stops here at all times, rush-hour and midday <6> trains stop here in the peak direction; The two express tracks are used by the 4 and 5 trains during daytime hours. The station is between to the north and to the south. The platforms were originally long, like at other local stations on the original IRT, Fixed platform barriers, which are intended to prevent commuters falling to the tracks, are positioned near the platform edges.

Design

As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the station was constructed using a cut-and-cover method. The tunnel is covered by a U-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. This trough contains a foundation of concrete no less than thick. There is a gap between the trough wall and the platform walls, which are made of -thick brick covered over by a tiled finish. The platform extensions had beige tiles. During station renovations in 1988, the beige tiles were removed and the original, white ones restored. It has IND-style signs indicating the way to the exits at 22nd and 23rd Streets. An ornate fare control grille on the southbound side is a piece of artwork entitled Long Division by artist Valerie Jaudon, which was installed during the renovation. The station features a back-lit "23 Street/Park Avenue South" sign at the platform level fare control. The station does not contain restrooms.

Exits

Each platform has exits to both 22nd and 23rd Streets; the northbound platform's exits are on the eastern side of Park Avenue South while the southbound platform's exits are on the western side. At 23rd Street, each control area contains two stairs to the southern side of 23rd Street, and a stair and an elevator to the northern side. The northwestern corner stair, for the southbound platform, is within the One Madison Avenue office tower and contains a passageway into the basement of the same building. The elevators provide ADA-accessibility for the whole station.

At 22nd Street, each control area contains two exits, one each to the north and south sides of that street. The southwestern corner stair, for the southbound platform, is inside a building. The northeastern corner stair is outside the United Charities Building and the southeastern corner stair is outside the Church Missions House. The passageway was slightly higher than the southbound platform, so a broad, curved flight of stairs was built on the southern side of the southbound fare control area.