PHOTOS: Brooklyn Subway Station Renamed For Little Haiti

BROOKLYN, NY — Straphangers headed to Flatbush will now know they've entered "Little Haiti" before stepping outside the station.

The MTA, after a push from elected officials, officially renamed the Newkirk Avenue subway station Newkirk Avenue-Little Haiti on Thursday to celebrate the thriving Haitian-American community in the neighborhood.

The renaming — celebrated on the anniversary of Haiti's victory over the French — comes after a proposal from Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn and State Senator Kevin Parker in the state budget.

“The Haitian people have a distinguished and proud history. This station renaming is a token that acknowledges that history both in Haiti and here in Brooklyn," Parker said. "I’m honored to partner with Assembly Member Bichotte Hermelyn to bestow to this symbol of one of the important traditions of our community.”

The Newkirk Avenue station is found in the Little Haiti Business and Cultural District, which was designated in 2018 by the City Council. It encompasses Avenue H, Brooklyn Avenue, Parkside Avenue, and East 16th Street.

The largest immigrant group in Flatbush, Haitians make up more than 20 percent of the neighborhood's foreign-born population, according to census data. There are more than 90,000 Haitian-Americans in Brooklyn as a whole, the third-highest concentration in the United States, officials said.

“I’m thrilled to recognize the significant impact of Brooklyn’s Haitian-American community with the renaming of this station,” said MTA Acting Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “As a longtime Brooklynite, I am keenly aware of the significance that this neighborhood plays as a center of Haitian-American life and culture. This is an exciting day for the entire borough and for Haitian-Americans across the city.”

The renaming proposal adopted into the state budget provided funding for the cost of new signage, alterations to maps int eh station and on subway cars, and updated audio systems on the platform and in the trains at the station, according to officials.

It is also part of a broader civic project known as the "Little Haiti Brooklyn initiative."

Check out photos from the event, courtesy of Marc A. Hermann of the MTA: