Bill would rename NYC subway station after Stonewall, a landmark in the LGBTQ+ rights movement – ​​KION546

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City subway station would be renamed to commemorate the Stonewall riots that galvanized the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, under legislation approved by state lawmakers then that they were finishing their session this month.

The state Legislature on Wednesday approved a bill directing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to change the name of the Christopher Street-Sheridan Square subway station in Greenwich Village to Christopher Street-Stonewall National Monument Station.

“This change will commemorate the history of the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement and inspire New York to demand justice and equality for all,” wrote Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Manhattan Democrat who sponsored the proposal, on social platform X following the decision. Adoption of the measure by the Senate.

The bill now goes to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul for approval. His office announced Sunday evening that it would review the legislation.

The Stonewall Inn was raided by police on June 28, 1969, sparking a riot and several days of protests that marked a revolutionary moment in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the country.

At the time, showing affection toward someone of the same sex or dressing in a way deemed inappropriate could result in people being arrested and leading to the loss of liquor licenses at bars that served them.

Today, the Stonewall Inn is a National Historic Landmark, and guests flock to the site every June, when New York and many other cities hold LGBTQ+ pride celebrations.

The Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center is also set to open next door as the National Park Service’s first such center focused on LGBTQ+ history.