Construction and opening Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets was constructed as a junction between the
Fulton Street and
Crosstown lines of the
Independent Subway System (IND), and part of the section of the Fulton Street subway under Schermerhorn Street between Court Street and Bond Street. Surveying by the
New York City Board of Transportation along Schermerhorn Street began in 1928, and construction began around 1929. Property on the south side of Schermerhorn Street between Bond and Nevins Streets was condemned to facilitate the project. Like other stations along the lines, it was constructed via shallow
cut-and-cover methods, with the street covered by wooden planks. In 1935, Sixteen Sycamores Playground was constructed on a portion of the land condemned for subway construction east of the station. The station was ceremonially opened by Mayor
Fiorello LaGuardia on April 9, 1936, with the station serving both Fulton Street Line local and express trains. From this station,
northbound Fulton local trains were planned to continue to
Court Street and terminate there. Express trains would turn north under Jay Street and continue to
Manhattan via the
Cranberry Street Tunnel. However, initial Fulton Street service ran entirely local at the time, as the line only ran to
Rockaway Avenue. Without express service, local trains provided service to Manhattan via the express tracks at this station while the
HH shuttle was instituted to serve Court Street and the local tracks/platforms.
Later usage On October 9, 1936, a public hearing was held to discuss the construction of a passageway between the station and the
Loeser's Department Store on the north side of Livingston Street. In November 1937, the city Board of Transportation approved the construction of a passageway between the station and the department store. The now-covered passageway to Loeser's is commemorated with an artistic panel on a mezzanine wall in the station. Due to low ridership, the Court Street station was closed and the shuttle was discontinued in 1946. All Fulton Street service was routed via the express tracks at this station to
Jay Street – Borough Hall. This eliminated any use for the local tracks and they have been out of service since. The outer platforms were also closed until 1959, when the special service to
Aqueduct Racetrack began. Service ran from the lower level of the
42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station to the
Aqueduct Racetrack station via the
IND Eighth Avenue Line, Fulton Street Line, and
IND Rockaway Line. and the outer platforms have since remained out of revenue service. for example, scenes for
The Warriors and
The Taking of Pelham 123 were shot there. After
Michael Jackson died in 2009,
New York City Council member
Letitia James proposed to rename the station after
Jackson, who had filmed the video for his song "
Bad" there. The
Metropolitan Transportation Authority rejected the idea. The MTA also declined to put a plaque in the station, saying its guidelines banned such an action. In 2018, the owner of a privately owned building above one of the station's entrances agreed to paint a mural dedicated to Jackson. As part of the construction of building at 209 Schermerhorn Street, developer Rose Associates built an elevator entrance, which opened in September 2018. The MTA announced in 2019 that the Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets station would become ADA-accessible as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program. The project was to be funded by
congestion pricing in New York City, but it was postponed in June 2024 after the implementation of congestion pricing was delayed. ==Station layout==