The closing of the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station has been pushed off to the end of 2023, Ynet reported on Monday.
The Tel Aviv regional court initially decided to close the station and have the businesses in it clear out by December 5, but, according to Ynet, agreements have been made for the station's activity to continue until the end of 2023.
According to the new plan, the bus activity in the station will continue for a further two years, at which point the buses will begin and end their journeys at temporary stops until a different central station is opened.
In the meantime, the Tel Aviv Bus station continues to fall into a state of disrepair and neglect, and the neighborhood in which it was built, Neveh Sha'anan, continues to be a hotspot for crime and drug use.
The Block, a nightclub in the station, posted on Facebook describing the state of affairs over the last few weeks.
"In the last few weeks, something scary has been happening in the Tel Aviv Bus Station," the nightclub wrote. "Immediately after the announcement of the closing that was supposed to happen at the beginning of December (and has now been canceled) things started happening fast: the former station CEO, Mickey Ziv, with whom we worked in full cooperation for 10 years, suddenly resigned, and in his place, Nitzba (the owners of the station) appointed new management that severely bullies the businesses."
The post goes on to describe how hundreds of shops have been broken into and their contents are strewn across the station. Furthermore, the cleaning services have been stopped, the station doors have been locked up and the air conditioning has been turned off.
Attached to the Facebook post was a letter addressed to Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai.
"We are turning to you as a result of a fast deterioration in the bus station, unclarity on the side of the businesses that work there, and concerning management from Nitzba," the letter began.
After describing the situation, the letter went on to request that the Tel Aviv municipality get involved and help fix the present reality of the station.
The closing of the station posed a great concern for the businesses in the station because of the threat of losing their livelihood, but if the situation continues as it is, they may well be harmed more by the delay of an extra two years.