Congressman To Hold Uptown 'Summer Of Hell' Town Hall

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — The "Summer of Hell" was supposed to hit Midtown commuters the hardest. While things are looking relatively smooth at Penn Sation, Uptown Manhattan subway stations have experienced debilitating track fires, power outages, train derailments and swarmed platforms.

Congressman Adriano Espaillat will hold a town hall meeting Saturday in Washington Heights to discuss how the "Summer of Hell" affects the Uptown community.

"Uptown Manhattan has been disproportionally hit hardest by subway derailments, commuter delays, congestion, cancellations, and a host of other transit issues," read an Espaillat press release. "The purpose of the event is to hear commuter stories and address immediate concerns, repairs, and solutions."

The town hall meeting will be held Saturday at PS 8 Luis Belliard, located at 465 W. 167th St. near Amsterdam Avenue, Espaillat's office said. The meeting begins at 1 p.m. and is expected to last two hours, according to a press release.

Speakers at the town hall include:

• Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13)
• Comptroller Scott M. Stringer
• State Senator Marisol Alcantara
• State Assemblywoman Carmen De La Rosa
• City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez
• City Councilman Mark Levine
• Straphangers Campaign, NYC
• The Riders Alliance
• Community Board 12, Manhattan

Representatives from the MTA have been invited to attend the town hall meeting.

A track fire at the 145th Street subway station caused massive disruptions to Uptown train service along several line Monday morning and resulted in nine people being hospitalized with minor injuries. Most notably, the resulting delays caused commuters to pile on top of each other at Uptown train stations.

Photo courtesy of @EspaillatNY/Twitter