Southern Brooklynites are often late because of poor transportation. Photo by Aidan Graham
Gounardes releases report on
southern Brooklyn transit woes
INSIDE
WWW.BROOKLYNPDAPILEYR.C.COOMM 1 METROTECH CENTER NORTH • 10TH FLOOR • BROOKLYN, NY 11201
Founders of the fest: Ilana Rubin and
Lana Schwartz will host a night of
Hanukkah-themed comedy on Dec 21.
Photo by Mindy Tucker
Light entertainment
Hanukkah comedy show returns to Union Hall
By Kevin Duggan This show is a gelt-y pleasure!
An annual comedy show
featuring all Jewish performers will
return this weekend to put Hanukkah
in the spotlight. The fourth annual
“Chanukahstravaganza,” at Park Slope’s
Union Hall on Dec. 21, celebrates the
festival of lights during a time of year
when Santa Claus and a baby in a manger
tend to hog all the attention, according to
one of the show’s founders.
“People mostly think of Christmas,
and other holidays like Hanukkah and
Kwanzaa become kind of sidebars. With
this, Hanukkah becomes the main event
for one night,” said Lana Schwartz.
During the show, subtitled “Brighter
than Ever,” a half-dozen comedians will
perform standup focused on the eight-day
holiday, which lends itself to laughs more
than other, more somber events in the
Jewish calendar, according to Schwartz.
“This is one of the more uplifting
holidays — you don’t have to fast,” she
said. “A lot of Jewish holidays are kind of
downers.”
Schwartz and the event’s co-founder,
fellow comedian Ilana Michelle Rubin,
will emcee the show and perform short
sketches between the acts, including a
recurring segment about “Forgotten
Heroes of Hanukkah” — lesser-known
characters involved in the miraculous eight
nights of oil .
The founders will also act out a few
Hanukkah rom-coms — a Jewish spin
on the many romantic Christmas specials
that air at this time of year. Previous years
have also featured “Hanukkah Carols,”
according to Schwartz.
For the audience, there will be plenty
of chocolate gelt to snack on, along with a
dreidel-spinning competition and a raffle,
with prizes that include two VIP tickets to
a taping of “The Daily Show,” and a signed
copy of performer Josh Gondelman’s book
“Nice Try.”
All proceeds from the raffle and ticket
sales will go to the Center for Advancing
Holocaust Survivor Care, said Schwartz.
The annual event has become a great
place for participants to share their
different experiences of Hanukkah, said
Rubin, who added that people of all faiths
are welcome at the show.
“What’s most important to us is making
people laugh and share this holiday with
people who are or aren’t Jewish,” she said.
“Chanukahstravaganza: Brighter Than
Ever” at Union Hall 702 Union St. between
Fifth and Sixth avenues in Park Slope, (718)
638–4400, www.unionhallny.com. Dec 21
at 7:30 pm. $12 ($10 in advance).
Your entertainment
guide Page 49
Police Blotter ..........................8
Standing O ............................36
Opinion ...................................38
Letters .................................... 39
Wellness ................................. 43
HOW TO REACH US
COURIER L 4 IFE, DECEMBER 20-26, 2019
BY JESSICA PARKS
If you’re reading this, you’re probably
late.
A whopping 90 percent of southern
Brooklyn straphangers who responded to
a survey published by state Sen. Andrew
Gounardes reported being always or
sometimes late to their destinations due
to transit delays.
“This report confi rms what we know
to be true: Southern Brooklynites deserve
better public transportation,” said
the fi rst-term senator. “These challenges
have been ongoing for decades and it’s
time that our city take a stark look at
what we will need to do to transform our
public transportation system. Whether
through long and indirect commutes or
poor service, southern Brooklyn’s public
transportation problems take a major toll
on our neighborhoods.”
Gounardes’ offi ce distributed transit
surveys online and at every bus and subway
station within his 22nd Senate District
over a seven-month period and received
769 responses — with more than 63
percent of all surveys coming out of Bay
Ridge and only 4 percent from residents of
Marine Park, Manhattan Beach and Gerritsen
Beach.
The report examined service on the D,
N, R, B/Q, and F subway lines and bus service
in southern Brooklyn to fi nd that 30
percent of D train riders reported always
being late to their destination— higher
than any other line. Riders on the F train
faired better, with only 12 percent saying
they were late. When it comes to bus transit,
83 percent of bus riders said they were
always or sometimes late due to delays.
“Riders often stand and wait on the
platform for a train without knowledge
that there is an ongoing MTA issue that
results to either no trains or delayed
trains,” said one of the survey respondents.
“If and when speakers are being
used for announcements, the message is
either unclear or the speaker is not functioning
properly to allow the message to
be properly delivered. Proper communication
with riders can allow for them to
make alternative travel arrangements.”
Despite the reports of unreliable service,
an 83 percent majority said they rely
on public transit as their main form of
transportation throughout the area.
Some 80 percent of southern Brooklyn
commuters said their work commutes
were at least 45 minutes going one way
while only 3.5 percent of respondents recorded
commute times of less than 30
minutes, according to Gounardes’ report.
Commuters from Marine Park and
Gerritsen Beach have the longest travel
times, with 50 percent of respondents disclosing
travel times of more than an hour
— and all the area’s survey-takers said
they had to make a transfer in order to
reach their destination.
When asked how to improve the area’s
transit options, 45 percent of respondents
said they would like to see more frequent
service..
Included in Gounardes’ plan to address
the issues raised by the southern
Brooklyn commuters who responded to
his survey are initiatives such as passing
a senate bill that allows riders to vote
for MTA board members, approve legislation
to mandate the MTA meet accessibility
goals, providing student discounts for
express buses, and pushing for increased
bus service in southern Brooklyn’s transit
deserts.
Mail:
Courier Life,
1 Metrotech Center North
3rd Floor, Brooklyn,
N.Y. 11201
General Phone:
(718) 260-2500
News Fax:
(718) 260-2592
News E-Mail:
editorial@schnepsmedia.com
Display Ad Phone:
(718) 260-8302
Display Ad E-Mail:
rdonofrio@schnepsmedia.com
Display Ad Fax:
(718) 260-2579
Classified Phone:
(718) 260-2555
Classified Fax:
(718) 260-2549
Classified E-Mail:
classified@schnepsmedia.com
BROOKLYN GRAPHIC (ISSN 0740-2260) Copyright © 2019 by the Brooklyn Courier Life LLC is published weekly by Brooklyn Courier Life LLC, One Metrotech North, 10th floor Brooklyn, NY 11201. 52 times a year. Business and
Editorial Offices: One Metrotech North, 10th floor Brooklyn, NY 11201. Accounting and Circulation Offices: Brooklyn Courier Life LLC, One Metrotech North, 3rd floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Call 718-260-2500 to subscribe. Periodicals
postage prices is paid at Brooklyn, N.Y. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Brooklyn Graphic, One Metrotech North, 10th floor Brooklyn, NY 11201. This newspaper is not responsible for typographical errors in ads
beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2019 by Brooklyn Courier Life LLC. The content of this newspaper is protected by Federal copyright law. This newspaper, its advertisements,
articles and photographs may not be reproduced, either in whole or part, without permission in writing from the publisher except brief portions for purposes of review or commentary consistent with the law.
/WWW.BROOKLYNPDAPILEYR.C.COOMM
link
link
link
/www.unionhallny.com
/www.unionhallny.com
link
link
link