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. The station cost about $3 million to build, including $131,000 for the tilework. This station began serving Crosstown Line trains on July 1, 1937, when the Crosstown Line was extended from Nassau Avenue. 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 passageway opened on December 8, 1938. As part of the project, a stairway was constructed from the passageway to the south side of Livingston Street. 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. Like the lower level at 42nd Street, the outer platforms at Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets provided a convenient place to segregate passengers who had paid the extra fare required to board the special trains. Consequently, Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets was the only stop between 42nd Street and the racetrack. The Aqueduct service was eliminated in 1981, and the outer platforms have since remained out