George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal Town Hall Rescheduled

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A town hall meeting to discuss the progress on the long-overdue George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal is back on track. The public forum was originally scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 9, but was canceled due to a snowstorm.

The town hall meeting has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 16, a spokeswoman for City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez announced during Tuesday night's Community Board 12 meeting. The event will be held at 179 Fort Washington Avenue at 6:30 p.m. and representatives from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will attend the meeting to answer residents' questions, the spokeswoman said.

It was not immediately clear if the private developers working the with Port Authority — a company called the George Washington Bridge Bus Station Development Venture — will attend the meeting.

The town hall meeting was organized by a group of uptown politicians including Rodriguez, State Assembly Member Carmen De La Rosa, State Senator Marisol Alcantara, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Community Board 12.

The $183 million renovation of the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal was first proposed eight years ago and was supposed to be completed by the end of 2016, but that never happened. Construction on the bus terminal — located on a two-block stretch between West 178th and 179th streets and Fort Washington and Wadsworth avenues — began in 2014 after years of delay due to the recession and damage brought by Hurricane Sandy.

The bus terminal has remained open during the construction, but several of its entrances and exits are blocked off. Incoming passengers are forced to exit the terminal through one staircase located on 178th street and departing passengers can only access their buses by a temporary staircase on 179th street. Neither staircase is ADA accessible, and handicapped passengers must call in advance and get picked up on Fort Washington Avenue.

Correction: Date of town hall meeting corrected to Thursday, March 16.

Photo by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey