Ivanova's line "Oh, this is demeaning. I mean, we're not some... some deep space franchise. This station is *about* something!" is a clear dig at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993). During the early seasons of both shows their producers were in a war of words over alleged plagiarism by Paramount (makers of DS9). They settled their differences around the time this season was airing though. They even played softball together and had major cast members cameo on the other's show. Funnily enough, many fans still argue over this decades later.
Peter David, writer of this episode, had a long history of writing novels for the Star Trek franchise, and came up with the line "We're not some... some deep space franchise. This station is *about* something!" expecting it to be cut. To his surprise, J. Michael Straczynski found it so funny that the line made it into the episode.
This takes place in August 2259.