It’s been awhile since we’ve checked in on the Lower East Side/Chinatown intercity bus wars. As we’ve reported on numerous occasions, local residents are beyond frustrated with the onslaught of both legal and illegal bus companies using the neighborhood’s sidewalks as a makeshift bus depot. Here are a few updates.
On Tuesday, November 10, a company going by the name GD Tour Inc. will go before Community Board 3’s transportation Committee with a request for a permit at 125 East Broadway (between Rutgers Street and Allen Street). This is one of the most congested stretches on the Lower East Side for intercity buses.
Meanwhile, CB3 is planning an Intercity Bus Town Hall Meeting on December 1 “to identify problems and potential solutions resulting from non-compliant interstate bus companies.” A state law setting up a permit system for the buses was implemented in 2013. While local police precincts have written tickets in an attempt to deter the violators, many local activists believe the problem is worse than ever. The meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. at P.S. 124, 40 Division St.
The local SPaCE Block Association continues to document the violations. The organization’s president, Emma Culbert, recently sent along this video from Pike Street, near East Broadway. It was shot at 9:30 p.m. on October 18. Culbert reported that there were three buses on one block, two loading/unloading passengers and one parked in a space reserved for another bus company. Yep does not have a permit for this or any other location in the neighborhood.
