By Gus Saltonstall
An Upper West Side elected official is leading the push to rename a neighborhood train station after the late Saul Zabar.
Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal has introduced a bill to co-name the West 79th Street 1 train station in honor of Zabar, the beloved, longtime owner of Zabar’s, who died at the age of 97 on October 7, 2025.
If passed, the official name of the station would become the 79th Street – Saul Zabar station.
“Zabar’s embodies the Upper West Side,” said Rosenthal in a news release. “And for decades, Saul Zabar, with his exacting standards, culinary acumen and fierce loyalty to those who worked for him, was the heart and soul of his family-run delicatessen on West 80th Street and Broadway.”
“Saul’s memory will forever be cemented in New York City history with the renaming of the West 79th Street subway station in his honor,” she added.
It would not be the first time that Zabar’s and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority [MTA] partnered with one another.
This past October, the MTA held a press conference and ceremony outside of the Upper West Side grocer in honor of Saul’s passing, and also unveiled an official temporary tribute poster to the longtime patriarch of the family within the 79th Street 1 train station.
“This tribute is the MTA’s way of honoring Saul, Zabar’s, and this special family that I’ve known my entire life, at the 79th Street station, where thousands of New Yorkers can be reminded every day of his impact,” said MTA Chair and Upper West Side native Janno Lieber at the time.
Additionally, in the fall of 2025, the MTA partnered with Zabar’s, along with other “iconic culinary vendors” in the five boroughs, to celebrate the end of the MetroCard; during that time, the Upper West Side store made limited-edition MetroCard black and white cookies.
West Side Rag reached out to the MTA to discuss the possibility of the Upper West Side train station being renamed for Zabar, and an official from the agency explained that its renaming stations policy is generally geographic-based, and happens when the new name better describes the location of the station for riders.
Nearby examples are the 116th Street – Columbia University station or the 110th Street – Malcolm X Plaza station.
Annie Zabar, Saul’s daughter and the assistant vice president at Zabar’s, said, “Renaming the 79th Street subway station in his honor would be a lasting way for New Yorkers to remember his devotion to quality, community, and family.”
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I guess there’s not a lot of important stuff to occupy the time of our elected officials.
Ridiculous.
No thanks. Zabars can sponsor the station if they want though.
Love Zabar’s. I dislike this idea and the zeal with which Rosenthal and Brewer have been pushing to rename streets and now subway stations.
We can’t keep renaming things after great or beloved people who have passed. There will always be great and beloved people who pass away. There are not enough subway stations or streets to rename for all the people who are great, beloved or famous.
This whole renaming zeal is an absurd use of municipal/state time and resources by politicians who should be focusing on more important things.
I think Zabar’s Station is completely appropriate. Been calling it that for years anyway.
Great idea.
Except the man who made Zabar’s a special store was Murray Klein; the store has declined significantly since Klein sold his 1/3 share to Saul and Paul Zabar in 1996.
In 1957, before Klein was brought in as a partner by Saul and Paul, the store was about to go under.
Is this honestly what our elected officials spend their time on? was he a big donor or something?
Hard pass. No offense to a great man. But I do not see why we need to change the name of a station. Keep it simple. There are many ways to honor someone. This is not a good one.
One would think these people would have better things to do with their time.
Make it happen. Mr Z was an awesome person