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Just last year, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) unveiled a tribute to the late Saul Zabar—the owner of the iconic Zabar’s and, by many, considered the New York king of smoked fish—about ten days after his passing. The agency plastered the platforms of the 79th Street subway station, just a few blocks from the deli itself, with posters honoring Zabar. Now, Upper West Side assemblymember Linda Rosenthal wants to make the tribute even more official. Earlier this week, she introduced a bill to rename the West 79th Street 1 train station as 79th Street – Saul Zabar Station.
“Zabar’s embodies the Upper West Side,” Rosenthal said in a news release, according to West Side Rag. “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.”
The MTA and Zabar's go way back. At the end of 2025, the MTA bid farewell to the MetroCard by partnering with NYC culinary institutions to release edible tributes to the physical card all around town. Zabar's released thousands of MetroCard cookies to mark the occasion. Needless to say, the treat sold out immediately.
According to West Side Rag, which reached out to the MTA about the newest petition, renaming a station involves geography-related considerations and largely depends on “the new name better [describing] the location of the station for riders.”
For what it’s worth, at least this one would be crystal clear.